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	<title>Carvill Creative Marketing blog</title>
	<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog</link>
	<description>Marketing blog - news, views, tips and advice…</description>
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		<title>The Importance of Listening. Key to Social Media Success</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetFor 2012 we&#8217;re also blending some short and sweet video blogs into our mix. Check this latest one focusing on the Importance of Listening &#8211; a key component for social media success.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/the-importance-of-listening-key-to-social-media-success/</link>
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		<title>How to be ready for your Facebook Timeline</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetSo the greatly anticipated ‘Timeline’ is here folks, get ready to see a barrage of negative status updates from your many Facebook friends complaining about the hefty change. The Facebook Timeline will be featuring on your profile whether you would like it to or not and the social media gods are giving us 7 days [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/how-to-be-ready-for-your-facebook-timeline/</link>
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		<title>10 Rocking Social Media Stats.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAfter reading a brilliant article called ’12 Social Media stats that will rock your world’ – I’ve taken 10 of the most rocking figures and shown you what they could mean for your business. 1.      Over 70% of the internet population are using social networks This doesn’t just include Twitter and Facebook and it highlights [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/10-rocking-social-media-stats/</link>
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		<title>Listen, plan, analyse then engage. Your Social Media Mantra for 2012</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetThere&#8217;s no doubt about it &#8211; 2012 looks like the year of the Tipping Point for businesses seriously looking to engage with social media in the UK. I&#8217;m not saying that we are anywhere near mainstream adoption, but the &#8216;it&#8217;s just a fad&#8217; response is fast becoming a distant memory for organisations of all sectors, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/listen-plan-analyse-then-engage-your-social-media-mantra-for-2012/</link>
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		<title>Retweeting the right way</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetThe art of retweeting a tweet seems simple enough. On most applications you can simply press the ‘retweet button’ and you’re away…or at least you think you’re away…. However it seems that hundreds of competent tweeters get this simple action very wrong. In the midst of tweeting excitement, many people tend to forget that they [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/retweeting-the-right-way/</link>
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		<title>A Year in the Life of a Social Media and Marketing Blog – 30 Handpicked Posts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A look through our social media and marketing blogs for 2011.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/a-year-in-the-life-of-a-social-media-and-marketing-blog-%e2%80%93-30-handpicked-posts/</link>
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		<title>The Twit(ch)Hikers Guide to the Twitteralaxy – Part 2</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAs promised in Part 1 of the TwitHikers Guide to the Twitteralaxy – here’s part two. Another 5 Must Know Twitter Tips – for newbies, seasoned Tweeters and everyone in between… Twitter Tip 6 – Tune on when your audience is tuned in The way people use social networks is changing all the time. With [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/the-twitchhikers-guide-to-the-twitteralaxy-%e2%80%93-part-2/</link>
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		<title>The Twit(ch)hikers Guide to the Twitteralaxy &#8211; Part 1</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetFor me Twitter has always been an exciting place to look, listen, connect and share. However, I am aware from the dozens of social media training workshops I’ve held over the past year with literally hundreds of people both via Business Training Made Simpleand in-house – Twitter is the one social network that seems to fox [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/the-twitchhikers-guide-to-the-twitteralaxy-part-1/</link>
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		<title>Ten reasons someone might unfollow you on Twitter</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetIf you’ve noticed that your Twitter followers fluctuate in numbers, perhaps there’s something you’re doing wrong. You might be turning tweeters on and off without realising it. Take a look at our top ten twitter sins and maybe you’ll discover why people don’t always stick around to see what you have to say… 1. We’ve said [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/ten-reasons-someone-might-unfollow-you-on-twitter/</link>
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		<title>Measuring Social Media.  My Mantra is&#8230; ‘Measure What Matters’.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetSocial media activity should focus on delivering the objectives of the business. You have to ask yourself what those objectives are and have absolute clarity so that you can then measure impact from social media. For example – if one of the business objectives is to improve lead generation – then there would be a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/measuring-social-media-my-mantra-is-%e2%80%98measure-what-matters%e2%80%99/</link>
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		<title>Customer Service in a Social Era – get it right</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetOffering and delivering good customer service is fundamental business sense – they teach it in the kindergarten of business school, so there really isn’t any excuse when businesses fail to deliver a decent standard of customer service. By nurturing your customers, attending to their needs and approaching any problems with care and reason, you should [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/customer-service-in-a-social-era-%e2%80%93-get-it-right/</link>
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		<title>Social Media Management – a Practical look at Daily Twitter Activity&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetFollowing the social media training that we provide, once teams know what they need to be doing – the next question is&#8230;” HOW do we get started?” Here’s a very quick guide to how to go about effective daily Twitter management  for general  awareness.  This schedule is by no means prescriptive and you can work [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-management-%e2%80%93-a-practical-look-at-daily-twitter-activity-5/</link>
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		<title>The beauty of social media</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetIt’s always interesting to see how different businesses approach social media. Everyone has their own way of using it and their own style – most obviously because everyone’s looking for different results. That’s the beauty of social media; it’s flexible and able to deliver a variety of results that can be tailored by you, if [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/the-beauty-of-social-media/</link>
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		<title>Another Facebook Privacy Tip for You&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet&#160; &#160; You may have noticed &#8211; due to some regular and shameful Facebook stalking -that you can see pictures on other people’s profiles/business pages that you couldn’t see before. It has been brought to our attention that many people are wondering why and how this can be controlled. This is because the default privacy [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/another-facebook-privacy-tip-for-you/</link>
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		<title>Linked In &#8211; Have you got your Products and Services in the Spotlight?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet&#160; I recently gave a talk to over 100 accountants discussing the merits of Leveraging LinkedIn. Whilst most business professionals do have a LinkedIn profile – a high percentage haven’t completed their profile to the recommended 100% &#8211; and many aren’t ‘joining’ up the Company Profile. Whilst Carvill Creative has had a LinkedIn company profile [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/linked-in-have-you-got-your-products-and-services-in-the-spotlight/</link>
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		<title>Social Media Fears:  But what if someone says something awful about us?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet Over the past couple of years being both a marketing consultant advising on social media and a social media trainer, training a range of people, different roles and organisations – a question that often pops up is… “But what if someone says something awful about us…” Well, with or without social media – those same [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-fears-but-what-if-someone-says-something-awful-about-us/</link>
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		<title>Some European Internet Statistics to get you thinking</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetIf you live in Europe or appeal to European markets and your business isn&#8217;t on the worldwide web &#8211; the following statistics should worry you. The majority of people and business have an online presence these days but these stats. should urge people to ensure that they are making the most of this space. The [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/some-european-internet-statistics-to-get-you-thinking/</link>
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		<title>Feeding a LinkedIn page onto a Facebook business page</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetCustomising your Facebook business page takes time and understanding – in order to give your fans the most value possible from your business page it’s important to keep your applications updated and functioning. In case you don’t even know where your apps can be found– they run down the left hand side of your business [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/feeding-a-linkedin-page-onto-a-facebook-business-page/</link>
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		<title>Content, Creativity and Ingenuity 3 Key Drivers for Successful Social Media Engagement</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetI attended the New Media Age’s “Social Media – Building a Strategy for your Business” (#nmalive) event last week – as I was intrigued to hear from  O2 and the BBC  - to see how they were managing and engaging from a large brand perspective – and indeed to hear the UK’s Group Head of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/content-creativity-and-ingenuity-3-key-drivers-for-successful-social-media-engagement/</link>
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		<title>Get Your Vanity Facebook URL – no matter how many likes you have</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetA short but sweet post from Carvill Creative today informing you of something else you can optimise in your Facebook profile - Another recent change that Facebook have made is that anybody can now have a personalised vanity url for their personal Facebook page or profile. The old rules stated that you had to have [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/get-your-vanity-facebook-url-%e2%80%93-no-matter-how-many-likes-you-have-2/</link>
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		<title>Are you down with the Twitter Lingo?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetThe BBC news homepage today brought us the gripping news that Miss Universe contestant Vasuki Sunkavalli was recently charged with the offence of ‘twagiarism’. Sunkavalli (aka Miss Universe) was found guilty of tweeting a series of tweets that resembled very closely the Wall Street Journal columnist ‘Sadanand Dhume’s political comments. Sunkavalli has been charged with the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/are-you-down-with-the-twitter-lingo-aka-twingo/</link>
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		<title>Facebook Security Settings&#8230;turn yours on!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetThere is a lot in the press at the moment about how Facebook are improving their security settings – complaints of spamming, identity theft and bullying via Facebook have forced the site to get stricter and savvier with their security settings. We want to make sure that you are taking full advantage of the security [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/facebook-security-settings-turn-yours-on/</link>
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		<title>Twitter Stats that will 100% get you tweeting</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAre you unsure about setting up an account on Twitter? Maybe you feel like it’s not right for your brand and clientele, maybe you think that anything you would have to say might fall on deaf ears because your target audience isn&#8217;t using twitter. Maybe you’re wrong… The following statistics will prove that Twitter is [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/twitter-stats-that-will-100-get-you-tweeting/</link>
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		<title>Leveraging LinkedIn&#8230;very simply, it’s about harnessing the relationships you already have.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetWhen talking to a new client about social media or indeed when training to a group of businesses on the subject, the one social network that I find most business people feel more comfortable with – and have therefore started to engage with (ie: created a profile) – is LinkedIn. Often branded as ‘The Professionals’ [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/leveraging-linkedin-very-simply-it%e2%80%99s-about-harnessing-the-relationships-you-already-have/</link>
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		<title>Creating Social Media Guidelines for your Business</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetMany of the questions I get asked during the social media training I deliver relate directly to ‘safeguarding’ social marketing activity and the implications of employees participating in social media can have on a business or brand. Rather than a business bury their head in the sand and create a policy of ‘no participation’ – [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/creating-social-media-guidelines-for-your-business/</link>
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		<title>5 more very important social media tips</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet Work out which social media channels are right for you Not everyone runs TV advertising – it’s simply not relevant for many businesses. With social media – the media planning is as relevant. The media you select will be determined by your objectives – hence why it’s important to clearly understand them. For example; [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/5-more-very-important-social-media-tips/</link>
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		<title>5 Key Elements for Success when Outsourcing Social Media Marketing Activity</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAt Carvill creative we actively manage social media activity for clients &#8211; and have been doing so for a few years now. There&#8217;s no doubt about it that in the past year social media has grown in popularity. businesses of all shapes and sizes are learning how they can be leveraging the far reaching social [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/5-key-elements-for-success-when-outsourcing-social-media-marketing-activity/</link>
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		<title>Five Very Important Social Media Tips</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet 1. Put thought into your profile picture Some people underestimate how important it is to have the right profile picture representing your presence on any social media site. The little box that sits at the top left hand side of any Linked In/Twitter/Facebook or YouTube account is seen by your entire social media community, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/five-very-important-social-media-tips/</link>
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		<title>How To Make the Most of your Facebook Business Page – get those ‘likes’ in</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet Ask questions Use your facebook statuses and wall posts to ask questions. So simple but very effective – provide your audience/prospective audience with an easy opportunity to enagage with your page. Facebook users are far more likely to notice you if you pose questions they want to get involved with. If you don’t ask…you [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-facebook-business-page-%e2%80%93-get-those-%e2%80%98likes%e2%80%99-in/</link>
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		<title>Google+ and Me</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet For the past couple of weeks now I’ve been watching the furore around the launch of the latest social network to his the scene, Google+ … I’ve read extensively and viewed a range of opinion via articles from key social influencers such as @mashable,@michaelstelzner,@hubspot and many more. Lots of articles around the questions: “Will it  take over Facebook”? &#8220;What’s [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/google-and-me/</link>
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		<title>Let people know you&#8217;re a social media user &#8211; shout it from the rooftops</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetIf you are using these social media platforms and taking the time to leverage them – then you want to make sure that world and his wife knows they can find you out there. Let them know you’re out there and make it easy for them to find you with icons and links. Promote your [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/let-people-know-youre-a-social-media-user-shout-it-from-the-rooftops/</link>
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		<title>When did you last check your website&#8217;s performance? 5 Critical Checks</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAre you 100% sure your website is working  as it should be? When was the last time you sat at your website with a consumer&#8217;s hat on? Often, we spend time getting great content together for our website, spend days, weeks and months getting the design right &#8211; then it&#8217;s over to the web developers [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/when-did-you-last-check-your-websites-performance-5-critical-checks/</link>
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		<title>The Ten Twitter Commandments</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetIf your Twitter feed is anything like mine – it’s probably drowning in tweets that contain precious links to articles that will give you the absolute do’s and don’ts of Twitter. However, we think that Tweepi’s Ten Twitter Commandments are by far the best out there and should be taken as gospel. They are concise, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/the-ten-twitter-commandments-2/</link>
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		<title>They’re going digital – Design Week and New Media Age leave paper behind.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetThe two magazines that we subscribe to in our office – Design Week and New Media Age, have arrived with rather intriguing letters this week. Both publications have declared that this will be their last week of print as they make the bold move to the World Wide Web. We are to accept that Design [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/they%e2%80%99re-going-digital-%e2%80%93-design-week-and-new-media-age-leave-paper-behind/</link>
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		<title>Let your customers know you&#8217;re listening &#8211; with the help of Social Media</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAs a start up or busy business owner you might think that social media is last on your list of priorities. Each day you just about manage to cram in the necessities and often have to let other things slide, therefore updating a Twitter feed or Facebook page everyday isn’t a realistic goal. Don’t be [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/let-your-customers-know-youre-listening-with-the-help-of-social-media/</link>
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		<title>Social Media is not for kids – the grannies say so</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAnother of Michelle Carvill’s favourite social media myths to bust is ‘Social Media is not for kids’. There’s this misguided opinion in those still not convinced by social media, Facebook in particular, that it’s a young person’s arena. This is a rather dangerous myth. It suggests to businesses that a large proportion of their potential [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-is-not-for-kids-%e2%80%93-if-the-grannies-are-getting-involved-so-should-you/</link>
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		<title>How to be a good Tweeter &#8211; some do&#8217;s and don&#8217;ts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet Allow yourself to be found &#8211; Choose a Twitter name that people are likely to associate with you and therefore search for. If they can’t find you then they won’t follow you. Make the most of your profile – Write a clear and informative profile description that uses keywords that people might be searching [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/how-to-be-a-good-tweeter-some-dos-and-donts/</link>
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		<title>Cutting through the noise on Twitter – and capturing key conversations</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetIt’s estimated that there are now over 160 million tweets posted each day on Twitter. And of course, as a Tweeter, the more people you follow the more ‘noise’ you’re going to have entering your Twitter feed. Even initially sceptical businesses are now beginning to open their eyes to the fact that, in the right [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/cutting-through-the-noise-on-twitter-%e2%80%93-and-capturing-key-conversations/</link>
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		<title>Flushing Followers with Tweepi &#8211; quality over quantity</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetOur last blog post spoke about the importance of keeping your content on social media sites relevant and interesting. We should be applying the same rule to our followers. Keep them relevant and interesting. It’s very easy to absently click that green follow button on tweeters &#8211; in the hope that they will follow you back [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/flushing-followers-with-tweepi-quality-over-quantity/</link>
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		<title>Content is King. So&#8230;what&#8217;s your content strategy?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet&#160; Social Marketing channels such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, YouTube and Forums (and many more that I won’t mention just now) are perfect vehicles for sharing content. However, now more than ever, what we share has never been more important. These channels provide excellent opportunities to share compelling content, content that helps others to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/content-is-still-king-so-whats-your-content-strategy/</link>
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		<title>5 facts that will urge you to stay or get involved with Social Media</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet If Facebook were a country It would be the world’s 3rd largest A new member joins Linked In every second 505 of UK mobile internet traffic in the UK is Facebook Social Gamers will buy 6 billion in virtual goods by 2013 You Tube is the second largest search engine in the world. With [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/5-facts-that-will-urge-you-to-stay-or-get-involved-with-social-media/</link>
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		<title>What is #rfr &#8211; why and how should we be using it?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetYou may have noticed the #rfr hash tag being used around twitter in the past coming weeks. #RFR  - Officially stands for Requests For Recommendations This very simple idea came about because we are constantly finding requests all over Twitter &#8211; people looking for recommendations, assistance, opinions and reviews. The #rfr hastag is categorising all [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/what-is-this-rfr-on-twitter-why-and-how-should-we-be-using-it/</link>
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		<title>Blogging – a few fast tips and a definition to clear things up</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetDavid Meerman Scott in a recent Hubspot blog has been quoted as saying – &#8216;The phrase ‘blogging’ is just semantics,&#8217; says Scott. &#8216;It basically refers to a platform for someone to create content with passion and build a community around it.&#8216; People sometimes get confused about what the purpose of a blog actually is – [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/blogging-%e2%80%93-a-few-fast-tips-and-a-definition-to-clear-things-up/</link>
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		<title>Showcasing &#8211; The Social Marketing Package</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetMichelle Carvill’s favourite social media myth to bust is – social media is free (check out her video on busting social media myths ) It’s her favourite myth to disprove because it’s simply not true. It’s true that many of  the platforms are currently free, but social media takes a great deal of strategic planning [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/showcasing-the-social-marketing-package/</link>
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		<title>Facebook statistics that will convert you for life</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetSocial Media – how long do we think it’s going to be before we drop the social and it just becomes known as media? Will social media marketing become known as plain old marketing? Will there be such a thing as traditional marketing, or will it have been phased about by social media therefore making [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/facebook-stats-that-will-convert-you-for-life/</link>
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		<title>Plug in the Facebook &#8216;like&#8217; button</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetFacebook is becoming responsible for a very special relationship that now exists between businesses and consumers. The social media site has become a valuable marketing tool and driver of website traffic through the invention of the famous ‘like’ button. Are you using social plugins/like buttons on your website? If the answer is no&#8230;check out these [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/plug-in-the-facebook-like-button/</link>
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		<title>Twitter News and a request to the Twitter Gods</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetI stumbled across this rather informative tweet from none other than the Twitter gods themselves and thought I would help spread the word – Now we can get doubly excited by the prospect of an email from Twitter – it might be that you’ve gained an extra and very exciting follower or even more exciting [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/twitter-news-and-a-request-to-the-twitter-gods/</link>
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		<title>Facebook For Business</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetMany of us have our own personal profiles on Facebook – we keep in touch with friends and relatives, upload, get tagged and tag people in pictures. These are all the basic functions of your average Facebook profile. When speaking about Facebook for Business, we are often asked &#8211; What is the difference between Facebook [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/facebook-for-business/</link>
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		<title>In the world of social media &#8211; don&#8217;t underestimate the power of your profile picture</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetSome people underestimate how important it is to have the right profile picture representing your presence on any social media site. The little box that sits at the top left hand side of any Linked In/Twitter/Facebook or YouTube account is seen by your entire social media community, all the time. Not making the most out [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/in-the-world-of-social-media-dont-underestimate-the-power-of-your-profile-picture/</link>
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		<title>A Practical Introduction to Google Adwords</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAdvertising online has grown significantly over the past few years – and is now a multi-billion pound industry. And with frightening stats around showing that 40% of all websites get ZERO traffic &#8211; it&#8217;s clearwhy businesses want to kickstart their online visibility by advertising online using Google Adwords. Pay per click (PPC) advertising has grown [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/a-practical-introduction-to-google-adwords/</link>
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		<title>Social Media Marketing &#8211; Take it seriously or leave it alone!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetThere’s no denying that the current marketing zeitgeist is described in two simple words &#8211; ‘social media’. Whether people are engaging directly with social media or not – the likelihood is that most people at least now know about it. The founding platforms that started with sharing information about our personal selves via Twitter, Linkedin [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-marketing-take-it-seriously-or-leave-it-alone/</link>
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		<title>Creating a personalised Twitter background</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetTwitter Background Design Tips What size should the new Twitter design background be? The new Twitter layout is wider than the original one. So, if you want to design your background for all to be able to see every detail of your personalised design, then that would only give you  41 pixels of space on [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/creating-a-personalised-twitter-background/</link>
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		<title>Twitter Stats and Trivia</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetI always enjoy the posts from @hubspot &#8211; and so this evening was reading their latest post &#8216;10 Essential Twitter Tips&#8216; &#8211; it reminded me that I too have collected some interesting Twitter trivia &#8211; and so I thought I&#8217;d share that too&#8230; Between 2pm and 5pm is when most tweets are retweeted.  Here at [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/twitter-stats-and-trivia/</link>
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		<title>Do you know the keywords for your business?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[How to find keywords is a question I often get asked. This article looks at some tactics for finding keywords. A must for all businesses who are looking to get found online.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/do-you-know-the-keywords-for-your-business/</link>
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		<title>5 Social Media Myths&#8230;well and truly Busted</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Social media myths - well and truly busted. A post about sharing how common myths are just not right in the social media space.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/5-social-media-myths-well-and-truly-busted/</link>
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		<title>Are you promoting your good points? Testimonials, videos, reviews…it all counts!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Are businesses promoting themselves enough via the important reviews, testimonials and videos.  How can others understand what you can do for them if you're not telling them about the success you've had with others.  ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/are-you-promoting-your-good-points-testimonials-videos-reviews%e2%80%a6it-all-counts/</link>
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		<title>Social Media &#8211; 12 Q&#8217;s answered by Michelle Carvill</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Anwen Gardner - Business and Marketing Student interviews Michelle Carvill re the feasibility of social media networking sites as a viable direct marketing option for businesses.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-12-qs-answered-by-michelle-carvill/</link>
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		<title>Don’t forget the business basics&#8230; the product has to stand up</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This blog posts looks at the basics of building a good business - whilst you may be marketing it online - don't forget that your product still has to stand up.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/don%e2%80%99t-forget-the-business-basics-the-product-has-to-stand-up/</link>
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		<title>4 Really Useful Business Uses and Apps for the iPad</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ipad business apps reviews]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/4-really-useful-business-uses-and-apps-for-the-ipad/</link>
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		<title>Social Media Quick Check List for 2011</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tweet8 quick actions to consider to assist with your inbound marketing activity in 2011 – and ensure you keep on top of your social media activity. 1)   Content Pipeline &#8211; Create a blog features list, scan all areas of your website; services, faqs, guides and write features around them, creating an extensive pipeline of blog [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-quick-check-list-for-2011/</link>
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		<title>The Power of Distraction and How to Overcome Those Bad Online Habits!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetIf you’re anything like me – you’ve got 101 things on the go all at the same time.  Throw keeping up with social media into the bag – and effectively you’re glued to an electronic device (smart phone, laptop, PC, powerbook, iPad &#8211; to name just a few) for most of your day. Having meetings [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/the-power-of-distraction-and-how-to-overcome-those-bad-online-habits/</link>
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		<title>Social Media Planning – a step by step approach</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetSocial Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linked-In, Bebo, Ning, Buzz (and a plethora of others) &#8211; are effectively ‘online social spaces&#8217; where people can converse, share their profiles, news, photos, ideas, work projects etc. Then we have Blogs &#8211; online ‘diary style&#8217; platforms where people can share their views, news, ideas and advice about [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-planning-%e2%80%93-a-step-by-step-approach/</link>
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		<title>Is your marketing activity &#8216;joined up&#8217;?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetThe all important factors to consider to ensure your campaign doesn&#8217;t fail due to lack of &#8216;response activity&#8217;. Working with a new client recently, it brought home to me the importance of ensuring that all your marketing activity is joined up. For many, there&#8217;s still a key focus on &#8216;marketing&#8217; being the promotional part of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/is-your-marketing-activity-joined-up/</link>
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		<title>Tracking your brand and keywords in the &#8216;social media sphere&#8217;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetSo, you&#8217;ve jumped on the social media bandwagon and set up a Twitter account, perhaps have a Facebook page and are active on Linked-In&#8230; however, are you really ‘getting’ social media? Whilst we are all spending time tweeting and updating pages – there’s still considerable uncertainty about any ‘return on investment’.  However, that doesn&#8217;t seem [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/tracking-your-brand-and-keywords-in-the-social-media-sphere/</link>
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		<title>Does your Icebreaker beat the cheesy holiday snap in the slide show?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetWearing my ‘professional services’ marketing hat, I recently attended a meeting at an accountancy practice with a number of their partners. To provide some context, I’d already met with the Partners responsible for marketing a couple of times and this was now my presentation to the entire partnership, sharing with them, my views and ideas [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/does-your-icebreaker-beat-the-cheesy-holiday-snap-in-the-slide-show/</link>
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		<title>Keeping it all in one place… a necessary part of doing business in 2010!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Bizzbug is a wonderful resource to help me manage my workload and project management.  I'm still amazed that it's not been picked up by more people - so as a true advocate of this very useful collaboration resource - I'm shouting about the benefits of Bizzbug. ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/keeping-it-all-in-one-place%e2%80%a6-a-necessary-part-of-doing-business-in-2010/</link>
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		<title>Tried and tested Blogging Tips &#8211; from a relatively experienced blogger</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is an updated blog post on 'Blogging tips' - from her early days of blogging, Michelle Carvill has updated the post with more relevant tips and her learnings over the past year of blogging.  ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/tried-and-tested-blogging-tips-from-a-relatively-experienced-blogger/</link>
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		<title>Email subject lines – to symbol or not to symbol that is the question?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Best practice tells us not to use symbols in our subject lines - often to the detriment of clarity of our messages.  However, Dr Flint McLaughlin (email guru) shares a study where symbols are used and whilst deliverability is reduced, the clarity of message dwarfs the significance.  ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/785/</link>
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		<title>Banks be nimble, banks be quick!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It's a digital age - so how are lumbering dinosaurs such as banks going to speed up and get real with what small businesses are looking for today!  ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/banks-be-nimble-banks-be-quick/</link>
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		<title>Using Twitter as customer service resource &#8211; Don&#8217;t just apologise, make your presence count!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Many corporations are now jumping on the Twitter bandwagon to preserve their brand reputation.  However, what they should be doing is making their presence count by being as concerned about customer service - as they are their own reputation.  ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/using-twitter-as-customer-service-resource-dont-just-apologise-make-your-presence-count/</link>
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		<title>Why is NOTHING ever simple?  Crack it and you&#8217;re laughing!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Why is nothing ever as simple as it first seems.  This post looks at why organisations are so intent on making what should be simple processes so challenging - and a few businesses that are getting on board with simple and are winning.  In a world where time is our least resource - keep it simple and you're on to a winner...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/why-is-nothing-ever-simple-crack-it-and-youre-laughing/</link>
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		<title>Optimism, energy and enthusiasm – recipe for success in 2010</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Tips on how to keep ourselves motivated, energised and optimistic about 2010. It's very possibly the year of the small business - so get in tip top condition to push ahead.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/optimism-energy-and-enthusiasm-%e2%80%93-recipe-for-success-in-2010/</link>
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		<title>2009 The birth of the Social Media Expert</title>
		<description><![CDATA[What is a social media expert?  Not sure - well there's an awful lot of them around at the moment.  This blog post looks at the rise of the social media expert and what the role involves.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/2009-the-birth-of-the-social-media-expert/</link>
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		<title>Not a bag for life?  I don&#8217;t get it&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Does anyone else get this marketing message from Phones 4 U - because I didn't. ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/not-a-bag-for-life-i-dont-get-it/</link>
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		<title>Get real&#8230;advertising has changed.  Open your mind to Partnering!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Partnering in businesses makes total sense.  At a time when businesses are cost conscious - a case of you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours is an effective method for extending reach in a cost efficient way.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/get-real-advertising-has-changed-partnering-makes-total-sense/</link>
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		<title>Social Media activity &#8211; once you stop can you ever catch up?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After a few weeks of not participating in social media - can one ever catch up?  That's the post...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-activity-once-you-stop-can-you-ever-catch-up/</link>
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		<title>JESUS took risks and was crucified – to innovate you have to be prepared to fail!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAs anyone who has spoken to me in the past few months will know – I keep raving on about the brilliant book, ‘Funky Business’ – written by Riddlerstrale &#38; Nordstrom (see www.funkybusiness.com). It was published in 1999 – so it is 10 years old – but a decade later and the messages and gems [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/jesus-took-risks-and-was-crucified-%e2%80%93-to-innovate-you-have-to-be-prepared-to-fail/</link>
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		<title>Get a clue!  DON&#8217;T ask people to register!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Stop asking customers to register before they even know they want to do business with you.  It's a sure way to kill commitment.  ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/get-a-clue-dont-ask-people-to-register/</link>
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		<title>The Visioning Process &#8211; do you know where you&#8217;re going to?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[looks at the visioning process - practical steps on how to design a vision for a business.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/the-visioning-process-do-you-know-where-youre-going-to/</link>
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		<title>Social Media and Socialising&#8230;Let&#8217;s not muddy the waters.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAs an avid Twitter user I recently came across a white paper written by Michael Stelzner – it&#8217;s the first official &#8216;marketing industry report&#8217; on social media that I have come across – no doubt many, many more will follow. The report, titled; How Marketers are using Social Media to Grow their Businesses is most [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-and-socialisinglets-not-muddy-the-waters/</link>
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		<title>Self Employed. Clearly I&#8217;m a power crazy control freak!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetI remember during one of the recent &#8216;Apprentice&#8217; episodes – &#8216;Shr’ Alan&#8217; making the statement that, &#8216;once he&#8217;d had a taste of working for himself, even when he wasn&#8217;t making a fortune, wild horses wouldn&#8217;t have been able to drag him back to work for someone else&#8217;. Having been self employed for the past 7 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/self-employed-clearly-im-a-power-crazy-control-freak/</link>
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		<title>Get Targeted with your Social Media Audience</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetAs a marketer with a mantra of &#8216;be targeted&#8217; – then I always raise an eyebrow when I receive messages from Twitter followers advising me how to get 1000 new followers in 48 hours! And, I certainly don&#8217;t follow back those on Twitter who clearly only have the goal of creating a huge number of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/get-targeted-with-your-social-media-audience/</link>
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		<title>Michael Jackson &#8211; boy, man, superbrand!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetIt was a weird start to the day. Having gone to bed very early the evening before (poorly daughter had kept me awake for much of the previous 3 nights) – I had missed all the news on Twitter and so awoke with no idea about the terribly sad news of Michael Jackson’s death. They [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/michael-jackson-boy-man-superbrand/</link>
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		<title>Where are potential customers leaving your site?  And do you know why&#8230;?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetOf course I respect the level of commitment and work a business participates in to get in a prime position to be noticed online. Optimising your online presence so that it is picked up by the all important search engines is of course a key tactic for success. We know from our own user experiences [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/where-are-potential-customers-leaving-your-site-and-do-you-know-why/</link>
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		<title>Inspired by London Underground&#8230;yes&#8230;really!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetHaving been in Euston, London, on a training course last Friday – to get back home, I entered Euston tube station, to hear soothing classical music. Stark contrast indeed to the hustle and bustle of the busy Euston Road. Brain had to engage a little,&#8217;what is that I hear?&#8216; – but no big deal, I [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/inspired-by-london-undergroundyesreally/</link>
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		<title>Providing WOW service&#8230;is it really that difficult?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetI read a great article yesterday &#8211; came across it via my TweetBeep alerts &#8211; which often throw up some gems I would never have naturally found had I not set these useful alerts. Anyway &#8211; that aside, the article (which is here is you&#8217;d like to take a peek) focused on the power of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/providing-wow-serviceis-it-really-that-difficult/</link>
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		<title>The current consumer psyche &#8211; no cherry sauce thanks!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetI attended an all day &#8216;seminar&#8217; recently.  A chap I used to work with in a global consultancy left to set up his own business pretty much around the same time I set up on my own.  Over the past 7 years he&#8217;s often invited me to get involved with his business activities &#8211; however, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/the-current-consumer-psyche-no-cherry-sauce-thanks/</link>
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		<title>Social Media Strategy &#8211; Marketers &#8211; it&#8217;s too fast to pin down&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetI&#8217;ve been working on a social media strategy with a client &#8211; and in doing so &#8211; what has become very obvious to me is that fact that &#8230; not many organisations are getting their head around applying a formal socialmedia strategy. I think the big challenge for businesses small, medium and large is the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-strategy-marketers-its-too-fast-to-pin-down/</link>
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		<title>Blogging the Seth Godin way &#8211; it&#8217;s Eastenders&#8230;!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetA couple of months ago I wrote a blog piece &#8216;Blogging the Seth Godin way&#8230;&#8217; .  Effectively, it was a post about what I was learning about blogging from Seth Godin &#8211; focusing on the range of subjects he included &#8211; the different sized posts (some very long, others just a paragraph) and frequency levels [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/blogging-the-seth-godin-way-its-eastenders/</link>
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		<title>How I am using Twitter &#8211; by a relatively experienced Twitterer&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[What's Twitter all about.  This blog post sets out to describe how a relatively new user is using Twitter sharing the practicalities and tactics of growing a targeted Twitter following.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/how-i-am-using-twitter-by-a-relatively-new-twitterer/</link>
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		<title>Make your communications count!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetExperts agree that when promoting your services and writing the email, sales letter or website promo the key activity is to ‘plan your writing’. 90% of the thinking should happen before those eager fingers start tapping at the keypad. The focus of your communication, from a sales perspective, is usually to win new business. So [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/make-your-communications-count/</link>
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		<title>Customer reviews&#8230;adding &#8216;trust equity&#8217; to a site</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetConsumer pyschology both offline and online has always interested me. If you think of the basics of ‘marketing&#8217; &#8211; word of mouth is one of the most powerful mediums (in both positive and negative contexts).  Postive: we tell everyone we meet how great a service / product is &#8211; and that &#8216;greatness&#8217; captures share of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/customer-reviewsadding-trust-equity-to-a-site/</link>
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		<title>What&#8217;s in a photo?  Can you judge a book by its cover&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[With social media how do you come across in your photo?  Does it portray your personality?  What is your personal branding, your photo, saying to others about you...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/whats-in-a-photo-can-you-judge-a-book-by-its-cover/</link>
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		<title>Ideas on how &#8216;search&#8217; could evolve&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[SEO is one way to get your site found - but what does that mean.  Page 1 on Google doesn't mean you offer the best service.  I'd like to see search evolve to include 'quality' - not just SEO expertise.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/ideas-on-how-search-could-evolve/</link>
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		<title>Networking &#8211; strike whilst the iron&#8217;s hot</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Participating in offline networking groups takes real effort but can be highly effectively.  Therefore, be sure to ensure that your are leveraging the activity.  This post looks at The Pitch, The Follow Up and Keeping in Touch.  ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/networking-strike-whilst-the-irons-hot/</link>
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		<title>Run a mini marketing consultation on your business</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Run a mini marketing consultation on your business yourself.  Rather than call in the external experts ask yourself some key questions to ensure that you've got your marketing planning in place!]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/run-a-mini-marketing-consultation-on-your-business/</link>
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		<title>Social Media&#8230;make it part of your marketing mix! 5 things to do right now!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetYou are probably familiar with most of the ‘traditional&#8217; marketing practices; direct mail, email marketing, advertising, telesales, pr etc &#8211; however, for a few years now, given the opportunities the internet provides, the term ‘new marketing&#8217; has been bandied around.   If we think of traditional marketing as ‘push&#8217; marketing &#8211; mediums we use to push [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/social-media-make-it-part-of-your-marketing-mix-5-things-to-do-right-now/</link>
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		<title>Usability checklist &#8211; can the homepage break the rules!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Looking at the accepted conventions of web design usability and pondering the question as to whether the home page can break the rules.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/usability-checklist-can-the-homepage-break-the-rules/</link>
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		<title>Are you writing for the web?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetReading text online is difficult on the eye.  And for this reason, web users ‘scan&#8217; content. Given that we know that users are ‘scanning&#8217; content &#8211; then we need to ensure that key messages are concise and easy to understand and actions jump out. When writing copy for the web &#8211; be sure to include [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/are-you-writing-for-the-web/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Blogging the Seth Godin way&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TweetI subscribe to just a few blogs &#8211; one of them is Seth Godin&#8217;s &#8211; I&#8217;ve enjoyed most of Seth&#8217;s many books &#8211; and whilst I don&#8217;t agree with everything he has to say, much of what he says, I concur with.  I&#8217;m learning a lot about blogging from Seth &#8211; not from the advice he [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.carvillcreative.co.uk/blog/blogging-the-seth-godin-way/</link>
			</item>
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