Social Seminars will help businesses get to grips with social media

Secret Agent Marketing have teamed up with FutrSocial to offer a series of free workshops aims to give Wiltshire businesses and organisations a better understanding of social media.

The informal courses will be led by social media entrepreneur Marcus Lilley (that’s him above) whose Marlborough-based firm, FutrSocial, helps people across the UK get to grips with an ever-changing array of communications technology.

The sessions are aimed at people who are using the basics of social media, and want to improve their skills.

Get my advice on PR campaigns

Spend Valentine’s Day with Agent Pete! In a hotel room!

In a recent, possibly rigged, and probably fictitious survey over 90 percent of the world’s women said they’d rather spend Valentine’s Day with Secret Agent Marketing’s dashing PR executive Agent Pete than any other man on the planet.

That’s a tall order, but there is hope. Someone has had the forethought to book a conference suite in Swindon and put out a couple of hundred chairs, to give as many girls (and boys) as possible the opportunity to spend the official day of romance with the heartthrob.

Agent Pete will be one of the keynote speakers at Swindon Chamber of Commerce’s first Sales & Marketing Forum. He’ll be sharing his thoughts on PR, and telling delegates: “Don’t Look a Gift Horse Burger in the Mouth.”

A gift for your business this Christmas: the Secret Agent Marketing sale

We’re pleased to announce that we’re holding our first ever Seasonal Sale, with up to 50 percent off our marketing services.

The end of the year is a good time to celebrate your achievements, and plan ahead for success in the following year.

To get your business off to a flying start in 2013, we have three great (but time-limited) offers.

Your bargains must be bagged by December 21, and and they come with an expiry date too, so book today!

Secrets of the marketing world blown

Agents Pete and Louisa from Secret Agent Marketing

The secrets of the marketing world will be blown as industry experts and Wiltshire Business Support Service join forces to help small businesses get to grips with their own marketing.

Marketing for Beginners will explain how marketing is more than just newspaper ads and glossy brochures; and how marketing should be a business investment, not an expense

Peter and Louisa Davison from Secret Agent Marketing will help attendees to work out who their customers are, how to speak their language, and how to give them what they need.

Louisa said: “The workshop will be super-practical, and each delegate will leave with a basic realistic, workable marketing plan, while peer-to-peer learning will allow attendees to try out their ideas on other workshop delegates.”

Peter said: “We´re delighted to have been invited to join forces with Wiltshire Business Support Service. Together, we can offer the wealth of our experience and an incredibly low cost to small businesses and start-ups.

This workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 18, from 10am to 4pm at Wessex Chambers of Commerce, Pentagon House, 52 Castle Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8AU.

Attendance costs £80 and each business will leave with a basic marketing plan.

Wiltshire Business Support Service exists to provide business owners with real, practical help and support. Funded by Wiltshire Council, the service is the ultimate advice and networking resource for anyone starting up or running a small business. All advice is free, confidential and impartial.

For more information, or to book a place, log on to www.wessexchambers.org.uk/events

Help your favourite good cause win £1,000

Over the summer we’ve been working with Budgens of Marlborough – who are bringing a new convenience store and petrol station to the business park – to promote their arrival.

As we’re both community-minded companies, Secret Agent Marketing persuaded the convenience store to give £6,000 to organisations and good causes in the town. They’ve had heaps of media coverage as a result and started to build quite a following on Facebook.

Log on to their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BudgensMarlborough before Monday (September 10^th) and you can vote for your favourite community organisation or good cause.

The grand finale of the Community Giveaway will be held at The Theatre on the Hill on Thursday, September 27, and tickets will be available through the Facebook page from Saturday.

The convenience store, subway outlet and forecourt are on schedule to open on Thursday, October 18.

Happy anniversary, Agent Pete

Cub reporter Peter Davison, on the beat with Marlborough Police

Our press and PR expert Agent Pete celebrated 20 years in newspaper journalism this week.

Although he doesn’t look old enough to have been doing anything for 20 years, we can assure you that he started poking his nose into other people’s business with the Marlborough Times way back in 1992. The paper has since folded, but that was not his fault.

He is now a co-proprietor of www.MarlboroughNewsOnline.co.uk, England’s only co-operatively owned and managed local newspaper.

What would you do with £1,000?

What would you do with £1,000? That’s the question we’ve been asking community organisations to think about this week.

A couple of months ago we were challenged by our client Fraser Group, who are opening a new petrol station, Budgens forecourt store and Subway franchise at Marlborough Business Park this autumn, to devise a campaign to herald their arrival in the town.

As a family-owned firm, they want to win hearts as well as business. “We want to be an important part of the community,” they told us. It’s been our job to make it so.

What we came up with was the Community Giveaway. The company has put up £6,000, which it will be donating to local community groups.

But those groups will have to sing for their supper – literally, in some cases.

How does social media fit into your marketing strategy?

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+… How do they fit into your marketing strategy? Do they fit in at all? Is social media something you think you should be using, but you don’t know where to start?

Agent Pete will be explaining the basics at Marlborough Profit Club on Wednesday, June 27. The session is run by business coach Nigel Scott and will be held at 1 The Green, Marlborough – home of web and video experts Mole Productions – from 1.45pm.

Non-members should contact Jane Scott for an invitation at janescott@actioncoach.com or on 01672 512001.

‘Let’s have some more!’ say our training course delegates

Debbie Williams of John Williams Heating Services Ltd

Delegates left our Marketing for Beginners course on Wednesday with new skills and ideas to help their businesses grow – and asking for a follow-up course to help them take the next step on their marketing journey.

During the training course, we took the delegates through the basics of marketing, and explained how different aspects of marketing could be applied to individual businesses to boost profits.

Attendees went away buzzing with new ideas and – as Agent Louisa’s ‘confidence board’ demonstrated – a much better understanding of how this marketing malarky works.

Secret Agents appointed by county’s new Business Support Service

We are thrilled to report that the newly-formed Wiltshire Business Support Service has appointed Secret Agent Marketing to deliver its series of marketing training courses to start-ups and small businesses in Wiltshire.

Our Marketing for Beginners course will explain how marketing is more than just newspaper ads and glossy brochures; and how marketing should be a business investment, not an expense.

We’ll be helping attendees to work out who their customers are, how to speak their language, and how to give them what they need.

The workshop will be super-practical, and each delegate will leave with a basic realistic, workable marketing plan, while peer-to-peer learning will allow attendees to try out their ideas on other workshop delegates.

We’re delighted to have been invited to join forces with Wiltshire Business Support Service. Together, we can offer the wealth of our experience and an incredibly low cost to small businesses and start-ups.

The first workshop will be held on Wednesday 30 May 2012, from 10am to 1pm at The Crown,19 New Park Street, Devizes, SN10 1EA. Attendance costs £25 for members of Wessex Chambers, and £40 for non-members.