FastForward

Unless you’ve been living on Mars, you will undoubtedly know about the importance of SEO or Search Engine Optimisation to help propel your website up the ranks in Google. Of course, the higher you rank the greater your chances of bringing more qualified potential customers to your site which in turn increases conversion rates.

But are you maximising SEO and is there anything you can do better to improve your web presence?

Nigel Carr is partner at Carosel projects, which specialises in SEO. He shares his top tips and tricks to improve your SEO ranking. This is an hour you cannot afford to miss!

Key takeaways:
- What are Google's ranking factors in 2019?
- The importance of keywords and how use them
- SEO for voice search
- How to optimise your site architecture for big SEO wins
- Resources to improve your SEO including Moz.com, Answer The Public and Keywords Everywhere

For more information watch Nigel's SEO workshop:

PART 1: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXqpqG9e1o&t=29s
PART 2: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RCv6iT8d1M

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Nigel Carr, Carousel Projects carouselprojects.co.uk/
Listening Time: 60 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

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Cybersecurity is just a reality of running a business, yet despite several high profile attacks, it is still being overlooked. In 2017 the cost of cyber attacks to small and medium size businesses amounted to more than £2 million pounds on average per organisation. A pretty sobering thought!

Holly Grace Williams is technical director at Manchester-based cybersecurity firm, Secarma. She talks to Trish about the steps businesses can take now to help prevent an attack. There’s also the serious chat about Amy, Holly Grace’s pet hedgehog!

Top takeaways:
- The types of phishing attacks
- Protecting your business on a budget
- Keeping your supply chain secure
- Why you need an incident response plan

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Holly Grace Williams, technical director at Secarma www.secarma.com/
Listening Time: 33 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

If you have a business, no matter the size, it’s vital to have a social media presence. Social platforms allow your company to connect with customers to brand awareness which can ultimately boost your leads and sales. But, as we all know, social media is a lot of work.

You have to create content, post it, monitor it and optimise it. Then you need to post regularly if you’re going to: drive traffic, engage your followers, build your follower base and so forth, But, let's not forget you have a business to run; emails to respond to, problems to solve and a live to live!

Fear not, in this episode we discuss social media automation and how technology can take care of some of the work.

John Preston, director of Superstar Bots chats with Trish about:

- The social media landscape and how it's changing
- The benefits of social media automation
- How to get started with social media automation
- How to ensure automation doesn't come at the expense of personalisation

USEFUL LINKS:

Full automation walk through video:
youtu.be/wNWwt3wMmvw

Calendly
calendly.com

Manychat Link
manychat.pxf.io/DMvad

Tech Manchester Template
manychat.com/template/2cd606ffe…1e26c6393952af3cf0

Snip. ly
snip.ly

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: John Preston, director Superstar Bots superstarbots.com/
Listening Time: 38 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

The majority of interactions we make in our day-to-day lives are now online, from business to shopping and everything in between. As such, it’s never been more critical for a company to offer a seamless, frictionless digital experience for its users. In fact, most people now expect it.

UX design is also good for business, there’s no doubt that it can positively impact your bottom line. A recent study found a well-designed interface can increase a website’s conversion rates by up to 200%. As Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs once said: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

In this episode Trish is joined by Melanie Denyer, a freelance UX Analyst currently working at La Redoute.

They discuss:

- What UX is
- What makes a great user experience and why it matters
- Some examples of good UX and some of the common friction points
- How web developers can start to think about UX in the design process

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Melanie Denyer
 Listening Time: 58 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

Navigating the startup investment landscape can be complicated but with preparation and (a lot of) research it is possible to find the right financial backing. This episode looks at how you can put all the pieces in place to make sure that your business is investor ready before you begin to look for funding.

Jessica Jackson, investment director at GC Angels and James Merryweather from KM Capital give their top tips for seeking investment and talk through some of the pitfalls that some founders make, so you don't!

Some of the key takeaways:

- When you should start looking for funding for your business, or even if it's the right path for you.
- Investment is about 'milestones and not survival'. An investor isn't there to bankroll you, they want to see growth.
- Why you need to see fundraising like a sales funnel.
- How over-inflating your valuation and could trip you up further down the line

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Jessica Jackson and James Merryweather
 Listening Time: 54 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Tech Manchester is about how to raise investments. You have your big idea and you’re convinced it’s going to bring in big bucks, but how do you persuade other people to give you the money you need?

TickX, dubbed the ‘Uber of events’, is one of the fastest growing and exciting new brands coming out of Manchester. Founded by Sam Coley and Steve Pearce in 2015, they have successfully raised £4 million in funding, but they have chosen their investors wisely, even turning down offers from three entrepreneurs on Dragon’s Den.
They speak to Patricia Keating about how they secured their initial investment following a cold call to the Ministry of Sound.

They discuss how they’ve adapted and grown the business and share some top tips for other entrepreneurs starting on their funding journey.

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Sam Coley and Steve Pearce, TickX www.tickx.co.uk/
Listening Time: 40 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

You may have created a business and product that you love, but if it's not selling you don't necessarily have to give up on your dreams. You may just need to move in a new direction.

Many successful businesses started off as something different. Facebook was intended to be a dating site, but changed course when it discovered how crowded the marketplace was. Slack began was a tool for game developers to talk to each other and has developed into a real-time messaging and sharing platform for teams from any industry.

Julie Anne Parker founder of Million Stars pivoted her business after recognising a real issue with waste in the camping and leisure industry.

She shares her story of how she embraced change to use her business as a force for social good which led to her being named Entrepreneur for Good at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2019.

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Julie Anne Parker, founder Million Stars www.millionstarsuk.com/
Listening Time: 41 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

How do angel investors and angel groups work? Where do you find them as an entrepreneur?

Angel investing has not only become trendy and highly profitable, it is now a powerful source of fuel for the economy, jobs, and innovation. For entrepreneurs, angels have become a primary source of funding, and for many startups, a vital part of their existence. But, how is this type of fundraising different and how can founders connect with this money?

Martin Avison is founder at Angel Groups, a funding platform that introduce businesses looking for investment to a range of high net-worth individuals. He has a wealth of experience in facilitating investments and shares his knowledge on angel funding to help you decide if it’s the right path for you and your business.

Some of the key points discussed in this podcast:
- What is angel investment and how does it work?
- What angels bring to the table?
- How much money do angels invest, on average?
- The key messages angels want to hear from entrepreneurs.
- When is the right time to pitch for funding?

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Martin Avison, founder of Angel Groups - www.angelgroups.co.uk
Listening Time: 45 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

You can have the greatest business idea in the world but without the right people around you, that idea is almost guaranteed to fail. A huge part of getting those people on board and retaining their talent is culture; what you stand for, your purpose and your vision.

Michal Wisniewski, founder of Flock, advises organisations on how to find people who identify with what their company stands for, to companies and employees to grow together.

Here are some of the key takeaways:
- Recognising the effects of a cultural mismatch
- How to define your company's culture
- The importance of retaining culture as you scale up
- How to recruit people who fit your company's culture and values
- Top tips for creating a positive company culture

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Michal Wisniewski, founder of Flock - www.yourflock.co.uk
Listening Time: 30 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

Your brand is your most valuable asset whether that’s a personal brand, a company brand, or both. It’s how your customers, employees and the wider world perceive your organisation, and when done well your brand can create an emotional connection that lasts a lifetime. However, is it possible to create a brand that makes an impact on a startup budget?

Nick Entwistle is the founder of creative advertising agency, Bank of Creativity and One Minute Briefs, a user-generated social content community. In 2015, he created the #LoveYourNHS campaign and music video that beat Justin Bieber to Christmas number one, just a few months after he suffered a heart attack at just 26 years old.

In this podcast, Nick explains how the campaign snowballed beyond all expectations after starting with a One Minute Brief. He also gives lots of advice for getting creative to help make your brand stand out in a growing, noisy space.

Some of the key takeaways from this podcast:

- How branding can impact peoples’ perceptions of you and your company
- The importance of creating emotion in creative content
- Why you shouldn’t be afraid to do something different to engage your audience
- How you can challenge yourself to get creative
- The importance of brand consistency

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Nick Entwistle, founder Bank of Creativity www.bankofcreativity.co.uk/
Listening Time: 57 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/
Or visit us at www.techmanchester.co.uk

Let us know what you'd like to hear to take your business forward. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.