Marketing Trends - Blogs

After writing blogs for other people for years, back in May we took the plunge and finally set up our own. We wanted to boost the ranking of our website and drive traffic by writing regular posts with news about the area, upcoming events and of course advice and help on marketing matters.

It's worked really well for us. We are now ranking for a wider range of terms and the website is ranking better than it did before we integrated the blog.

I must say that I also really enjoy writing the blog and sharing my knowledge in my monthly marketing focus pieces. Enjoying writing definitely helps, as it is a lot of work and some people lose inspiration for what to write. I'd suggest that you keep your blog quite broad, rather than simply focusing on your business, as it enables you to make the information fresh and interesting for your readers and gives you more things to talk about. You should be aiming for a weekly post as a minimum, ideally more frequently if you can manage it.

A great example of just how effective blogs can be is when we recently posted about the missing girl in Benahavis. This increased traffic to our website fourfold and just goes to show that writing about topical and current events can seriously increase visitors!

I believe that most businesses can benefit from having a blog, but you need to think carefully about how you set them up and make sure that you have the time to commit to it. I tend to line up a load of posts if I have a few hours free so I don't have to worry about it when I'm really busy.

Shaw Marketing Services can offer blog writing services and advice on how to use social media effectively for your business. please email info@shawmarketingservices.com for more information and you can check out our blog here

Client Case Study - HomeCareontheWeb

We have been working with HomeCareontheWeb on their Property Management, Holiday Rental, Long-term rental and property sales businesses since 2008. We are responsible for their full marketing mix including:

• Working on the design, copy and modifications to their four websites

• Writing weekly posts for their four blogs

• Producing templates for their email marketing campaign, and being in charge of their monthly email newsletters including copywriting, laying out, sending and monitoring responses

• Writing and placing press releases and articles in the Spanish and UK press including Birmingham Mail, The Travel Magazine, Andalucia Travel Guide and the Holiday Villas Magazine

The last few years have seen great developments for the company. Last year, they partnered with Europe's Number 1 Holiday Home Provider Novasol to expand their self-catering portfolio to include France, Italy and Greece as well as Spain and recruit rental properties for Novasol.

In June, we helped them create and launch their new long-term rental website HomeRentalontheWeb. In October, they also expanded by opening an office in Girona on the Costa Brava.

It's been really exciting to be working with them throughout all these changes and to support them with marketing, so they can get on with the important job of running the business.

Merry Christmas!

We'd like to take this opportunity to wish all our clients, friends and colleagues a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you all for your support, this has been our best year yet, despite the tough economic climate, and we couldn't have done it without you.

Our office will be closed from 23rd December to 3rd January to take a much needed break and spend time with the family. We hope you have a lovely Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in 2011.

Remember, if your New Year's Resolution is to get new clients, we're available for free 30 minute brainstorming sessions if you want to generate new ideas and get inspired. Just give us a call on 951 775 606 or drop us an email

¡Feliz Navidad!



If you're looking for new places to try over the festive period, check out our blog!

We've got a great new feature called Georgina Recommends ... where we tell you about our favourite places to eat and drink in and around Marbella.



Our first recommendations are for the stunning beach restaurant Trocadero Playa, Avenue Cafe - our new local on Ricardo Soriano that does a great evening menu, the lovely Matahambre and many more. We'll be adding to these every few weeks, so make sure you keep checking the blog.

If you try any out make sure you let us know what you think by adding a comment to the blog post!