Media Room

A survey of prospective franchisees has shown that 84 per cent of survey participants have little to no experience in social media yet feel it is important for franchisees to own and manage their own social media profiles for business.

The survey conducted by FranchiseBusiness.com.au of 600 Australian prospective franchisees highlighted although almost a third of survey participants had no experience at all in social media, 89 per cent of prospective franchisees believe social media is beneficial for business.

The survey revealed that majority of prospective franchisees see the value of social media yet most are still slow to gain the necessary experience in managing social platforms for business purposes.

Sales Manager for FranchiseBusiness.com.au, Raffael Fernandes, said “Although there is a very obvious indication that social media is seen as a necessity in franchise business by prospective franchisees there is still very little action going on.”

“Although 60 per cent of those surveyed believe they should manage their own social media profiles as a franchisee, their actions just don’t seem to be matching their needs – it’s very contradictory,” said Mr Fernandes.

In addition to social media, 93 per cent of prospective franchisees believe a website is important for a business and almost 80 per cent expect to manage their own website as a franchisee. However, 87 per cent of those surveyed have little to no experience in managing a website.

“There seems to be a gap between the expectations of online strategies and what they can do for business and the skill sets people actually have when it comes to using online strategies and tactics for business,” said Mr Fernandes.

The survey reported that less than a third of prospective franchisees had managed a website previously and only 47 per cent of those surveyed choose to use social media for professional purposes.

“Prospective franchisees now need to start growing their experience in the areas of social media and online. Learning the skills that will be able to meet their needs of managing and running a social media profile and website for business purposes will be beneficial for their future endeavours as franchisees,” said Mr Fernandes.

Prospective franchisees looking to invest in an Australian franchise surveyed about the effects of major issues in the franchise industry including financial, market environment and the online sector.

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About the survey
The survey of 600 Prospective franchisees looking to invest in an Australian franchise over the age of 18 years was carried out over the months of August and September 2012, covering all states and territories of Australia and representing all demographics.

About FranchiseBusiness.com.au
FranchiseBusiness.com.au is the official online business directory of the Franchise Council of Australia, listing franchises and service providers. Owned and operated by Catch, an online division of Reed Business Information Australia, FranchiseBusiness.com.au provides a comprehensive central online source of franchise opportunities and industry updates and news. www.franchisebusiness.com.au   Read More

Last week I was interviewed about mentoring. I was asked about the reasons why we need a mentor. Over my career I have mentored numerous business people and graduates and I see this as part of my contribution to the business community.

Here are the reasons why I believe mentoring is important:

Create a learning culture in your life – I think we’re responsible for our own learning. By seeking a mentor you are creating an opportunity to grow, which is what you need if you really want to be successful.

A source of support and advice – recently I had to deal with a difficult situation with a ex-business associate. The first place I went to for advice was my group of business friends. Informal mentoring is very invaluable so seek out people you trust and admire to provide you with support and advice.

Formal goal setting – mentoring is a great way to help you set a clear career path and set goals for yourself. It also makes you accountable for your own career goals.

Inspiration and a different perspective – spending time with a mentor that you admire can assist with your own perspective and can lead to better decision making.

Expanding your network – I can’t stress how important networking is for your career and business. A mentor can open up new networks with people outside your own sphere of influence. This can lead to new career opportunities you otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

Million Paws Walk – We are participating in the Million Paws Walk 2012 to help raise money for the RSPCA. We hope that by participating in the Million Paws Walk we can raise money and awareness to help neglected animals, but we need your help.

Please support our team and the RSPCA by donating to our CP Communications fundraising page. Help us achieve our (very achievable) fundraising target of $250!

Learn how to do your own PR – My next one day workshop – PR and Media Releases that get Results – is on 24 May. Learn how to construct a PR strategy including how to develop media angles, pitches, media releases, articles, case studies and editorials. You will also learn how to strategically use these tools to maximise your chance of achieving your PR objectives. This event is held at the Sydney Writers’ Centre. Register here.

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.
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How to write great content for the internet

Studies have shown that most people only spend 10 – 20 seconds viewing individual websites, which is hardly any time at all. So how do you get people to spend more time on your website and actually read your content?

The answer is to write valuable content that will appeal to your target audience and is presented in a clear format.

The way that we read internet content is different to how we read print text. People read slower on the internet and tend to scan the page, skimming over large chunks of content and focusing on subheadings and summaries. This means that you need to adapt your content for the internet to make it easier for people to read content on a computer screen.  Read More

In a competitive market for website development, Next Digital has identified that there are customers looking to partner with experienced agencies who can help them take their existing Sitecore website to the next level. In response to this, Next Digital have launched the ’Next Digital Sitecore Service Package’.

Next Digital Solution Architect and Sitecore MVP, Alistair Deneys, said, “Through our experience with Sitecore, we began to see a niche that was yet to be filled. We found, through developing this package, we could help add value to Sitecore clients who either had no further support by their website developer or no ongoing support program from their current provider.”

The Next Digital Sitecore Service Package consists of two parts. The first is an audit to assess the code base and configuration of an existing Sitecore website, the second is an ongoing ‘Maintenance Package’, which provides access to a dedicated team of certified Sitecore developers.

The audit is designed to assess the health, stability and performance of an existing Sitecore website. With over eight years experience and more than 100 Sitecore websites under their belt, Next Digital believes they are in a unique position to provide this service to the market. As part of the audit, Next Digital provides a report which details the audit findings and recommendations to achieve optimum performance.

“This package allows our Sitecore technical team to sit with the client and discuss issues and ideas around building on their current system. This will be of great value to clients who have an issue and don’t know how to fix it or just aren’t getting enough support from their current provider,” said Mr Deneys.

The ongoing ‘Maintenance Package’ provides the client with access to a dedicated team of certified Sitecore developers, capable of providing assistance and support for the long term.

“We aren’t just targeting clients who want to redevelop their website, we are also providing assistance and support to those Sitecore users who are looking to grow their business through this system and build a long term relationship with a trusted partner.” said Mr Deneys.

Next Digital has been a Sitecore partner since 2004 and within that time has helped build over 100 Sitecore websites for more than 30 clients. Next Digital’s Solution Architect, Alistair Deneys, is the only Sitecore MVP that has been awarded twice in Australia and is one of only 57 worldwide.

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For further information or interviews please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
Phone: 02 9460 9200
Email: lauren@cpcommunications.com.au

About Next Digital
Next Digital is a leader in creating successful digital strategies for clients throughout the Asia Pacific region. They combine exceptional marketing thinking, regional understanding and technical firepower to develop and deliver broad digital programs.

Their love for all things digital has been going strong for more than 16 years. That journey has helped them hone their delivery and engagement approach, and has shaped how they innovate and keep in front of a fast changing digital space.

Next Digital is a true full service digital agency with over 170 talented digital specialists working throughout offices in Brisbane, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney.
www.nextdigital.com   Read More

Next Digital today announced the appointment of Ashley McVey to the position of Senior Digital Strategist.
Ashley’s key objective will be bringing his best practice and innovative thinking into the digital strategies developed for Next digital’s clients.

“I am thrilled to be given this opportunity to help expand the portfolio of an industry leading digital marketing and strategy based agency like Next Digital. I am excited to be working across the existing client base and in helping to secure new business as well,” said Mr McVey.

Prior to Next Digital, Ashley spent six years in London building on his digital marketing experience particularly in ecommerce.

General Manager - Client Services & Marketing at Next Digital, Stephen Lord said, “Ashley will bring with him an excellent understanding of digital marketing channels from the highly competitive UK market and will add significant capability to our fast growing ecommerce offering.”

“Ashley will bring over six years of agency and network experience to this position as well as a strong background in winning new business pitches. We are delighted to have such a talented and experienced strategist join the team,” said Mr Lord.

While based in London, Ashley worked at Digital Agency, Found, as Digital Strategy Director where he was responsible for new business and digital strategy. Ashley also worked at TradeDoubler in London working with both new business and digital strategies.

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For further information or interviews please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
Phone: 02 9460 9200

About Next Digital
Next Digital is a leader in creating successful digital strategies for clients throughout the Asia Pacific region. They combine exceptional marketing thinking, regional understanding and technical firepower to develop and deliver broad digital programs.

Their love for all things digital has been going strong for more than 16 years. That journey has helped them hone their delivery and engagement approach, and has shaped how they innovate and keep in front of a fast changing digital space.

Next Digital is a true full service digital agency with over 170 talented digital specialists working throughout offices in Brisbane, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney. www.nextdigital.com  Read More

A survey of the Australian hospitality industry shows that although the boom of online, ecommerce and digital media are well on their way to being powerful business strategies, the hospitality industry is still wary of online business and ecommerce.

The survey conducted by GoHospitality.com.au of more than 850 businesses highlighted that almost a third of the respondents don’t have a website for their business and more than 52 percent do not feel the need to buy or sell any products or services online.

The survey revealed that many businesses in the hospitality industry have been reluctant to adopt an online business strategy.

The survey, however, did show an increase in interest toward the utilisation of online marketing. Although more than half of those surveyed do not use the internet to buy or sell, 82 percent stated they would begin to engage in online buying and/or selling in the future.

Additionally, while 85 percent of business owners surveyed believe that a website is important for their business, a quarter of them do not believe their customers find them online. Furthermore, more than one fifth of business owners in the hospitality industry believe they are unaffected by the internet and mobile commerce.

GoHospitality.com.au Account Manager Kylie Tabrett said, “Although there is indication of attitude changing towards the internet and digital strategies in the hospitality industry there is still very little action going on. Although the internet is the preferred source of information for the hospitality industry their actions just aren’t matching their needs.”

“There seems to be something stopping business owners in the hospitality industry from integrating more with the internet. More than half of those surveyed claimed not to shop online for hospitality products and yet 96 percent believe it’s a viable channel – it’s very contradictory,” said Ms Tabrett.

When business owners were questioned about the internet and an increase to global competition via online businesses and ecommerce: Read More

For the first time in its 80-year history the Australian Marketing Institute has awarded degree course accreditation to a university. Read More