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13/01/2022

New Year, new strategy?

At the end of 2021 were you reflecting on your business and thinking about upgrading, improving or altering your strategies? 

Whether it’s to do with your website, brand, marketing or all three, we can lend our expertise. 

We know time can be a major factor or a struggle for your business, let us be an extension of your team. We’ll provide expert advice and guidance while getting the work done. 

What to think about…

  • Relook at goals

Did you meet any goals in 2021? Do they need to be reset or are you still working towards them? 

  • Long term vision

What do you want to achieve in the long run? Where do you want your business to be? 

  • Resources

How are you doing for resources? Funds, people, time, technology and more. They’ll affect the outcome of your business goals. 

22group employees sitting round a table discussing a new strategy

Why 22Group? 

Brand & strategy

A powerful brand and strategy will not only tell your audience and target market who you are and what you stand for but it will also help your own team stay on the same page. From visuals to written content, we can ensure your message is portrayed. 

Website design & build

A creative and unique website with an easy user journey and the right functionality will put you ahead of your competitors. Our team are experienced in producing websites that meet those requirements and help you gain more leads.

Marketing & analytics

Strong marketing brings customers. Online or offline, all your marketing materials need to be effective and consistent. We can use our expertise and flexibility to help you create the marketing plan that is right for your business.

Campaigns & creative

We create impactful campaigns that are bespoke to your business. Whether you are looking for a digital campaign or a direct mail campaign, we will design creative assets so you are in the position to gain brand awareness and engagement.

We’re proud to be a digital agency that covers three important aspects of a business: website, branding and marketing. We believe consistency is key and that’s why we offer the services we do. 

sticky notes pinned on a board

Work with us

22Group is a talented digital agency based in Manchester. We’re dedicated to creating websites, brands and marketing that will bring you success. We’re also flexible, so whether you’re looking for monthly help or you have a one-off project, we’re here to slot into your needs.

We’re thrilled to say, this year we are turning 10. The last decade has been a fantastic journey and we’re excited to see what we can achieve in the future. We’ve learnt and adapted to ensure the services we provide our clients is the best it can be. 

Are you interested in working with us? Take a look at our previous work to find out how we’ve approached other projects. We don’t just help one industry, so if you have a project you would like to discuss, please get in touch. 

We’d be happy to answer any questions you have or discuss our services, contact us today. 

Published by twentytwo in Brand & Strategy
Tags: business plan, newyear, strategy
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27/12/2021

22Group’s 2021 Highlights

With 2022 a few days away, we couldn’t end this year without taking a look back at our highlights. 

For many, 2021 was not the year expected. There were some aspects of life returning to normality and then some that weren’t. After we spent the last festive period strictly over Zoom, we weren’t sure when we’d be back in the office, be able to meet our colleagues or have in person meetings with clients. 

Despite not knowing, we’ve managed to achieve a lot and hope 2022 will be the year we do even more. 

22Group highlights: 

  • We returned to the office

After lots of preparation, painting and cleaning, we were able to go back to the office. With several of us joining through lockdowns, it was nice for our team to get into the office and work alongside other colleagues for the first time. 

  • We had an in person social event

It’s not easy getting to know your colleagues through a screen and we were all overdue a team building exercise. We all had a lot of competitive fun at Flight Club back in October. 

  • Got to do a face-to-face workshop 

Zoom is great and we’re so thankful that we can still work with our fantastic clients remotely but, it’s always nice to be able to actually spend time with them in person. In September a few of our team members got to carry out a workshop and hear ideas and thoughts in person. 

  • Launched some websites

We got to work on some amazing projects and launch websites this year. We’re proud to say they’re user-friendly and visually attractive websites and if you are looking for a refresh or would like a website done from scratch, we’d be glad to be part of the process. Find out more about our approach to previous projects in our case studies. 

  • Working with new clients

Keep an eye out for our work coming 2022. We’re proud to be working with some amazing clients on some extraordinary projects. 

Work with 22Group in 2022

We’re looking forward to 2022 and can’t wait to see what’s in store. If you’re thinking about a project, whether branding, website or marketing, we’d love to be a part of your journey. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like to know more about our services - get in touch. 

From the whole team at 22group, we’d like to wish everyone all the best and every success for 2022. 

Published by twentytwo in Company updates
Tags: company news, company update, highlights
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08/12/2021

Why post on Google My Business?

Do you manage your business online presence across Google? That’s exactly what a Google My Business (GMB) profile lets you do.

The dashboard is user friendly and you want to make sure your profile is set up and optimised with the latest details.

While your customers can view reviews and see photos on your GMB, they can also see your public posts. You can publish posts about your brand, offers, events, products and services.

These posts appear in two places: Google Maps and in a search under your business’s information section in the sidebar.

When creating a social media plan or posting on your social media channels you should include your GMB. The only difference compared to social media posts is that your audience cannot share, comment or react to the post. 

man typing into google on a laptop

Why you should post on GMB: 

  • Brand awareness

Just like social media, your posts on GMB are great for communicating directly to your audience. They’ll be able to get a feel for your company and what you're about with the content you post.

  • Reach a wider audience

When you post on your GMB it increases your visibility which means more people will find you. Posting on GMB is another method to market your business on Google - take advantage of it!

  • Improve local SEO

Provide easy access to your business information including opening times, address and updates through GMB posts, this will help strengthen your local SEO. Also, since GMB is tied to search and Google Maps, you’ll rank better for local keywords.

  • Cost-effective 

Creating and setting up a GMB account is free for businesses. It allows your audience to quickly view your business information and other details. 

  • Promote for free

Posing on GMB doesn’t cost and is quick and easy. A lot of scheduling tools also allow you to connect your account to their platform making posting across all your channels more efficient. 

REMEMBER: post regularly and keep your GMB details up to date.

Every business should be utilising GMB. It helps you build authority online and is another outlet in which you can reach more people who can potentially become customers. 

Make sure the posts you publish are high quality and remember to use their CTAs to give people direction on your posts. With all content, it’s also important that your posts add value and make sure the posts are succinct (they're not blogs!). 

Bear in mind to attend to the other features on GMB including replying to reviews, posting answers to frequently asked questions and uploading images. 

google maps with a pin point on a local butchers

22Group 

If you’re looking for help with your SEO or social media posting, we have an experienced team to help you achieve your goals. 

22Group specialise in branding, website design & development and marketing for every industry. Whether you are starting out for the first time or looking to update, we can help. 

To find out more about our services or ask any questions, we’d love to have a chat with you - get in touch.

Published by twentytwo in Marketing & Analytics
Tags: digitalmarketing, gmb, google
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24/11/2021

Lead magnet examples

Lead magnets are a fantastic way to get sales leads. They are used as a marketing tool where something free is exchanged for contact details, it could be a free item or service.

An email list that consists of leads is undeniably very useful. You know they are qualified and more likely to be interested in your product or service. 

People don’t just give their details away for anything so your lead magnet needs to be something that provides value to the customer and is of interest to them - it also helps to drive awareness of your brand and business. 

fingers typing in their information in exchange for a free download

Here are some examples of lead magnets: 

  • A guide

Create a guide that helps your customers learn more about what goes on, it could be a how-to or step-by-step guide. 

  • Ebook

Help your customer understand a topic, service or product with a useful digital book. 

  • Webinar

Webinars are great for reaching far and wide. They’re engaging and if they involve a Q&A session they become incredibly useful for your audience. 

  • Templates

Make your customers’ lives easier with templates. It increases efficiency and means they don’t have to start from scratch. 

  • Product samples 

Entice your customers with a trial or sample of your product. They could be sitting on the fence about purchasing and your sample could seal the deal. 

  • Training videos

Is your product or service complex to use? Training videos allow your customers to understand you better and once they see it in action, it can help them make a decision. 

As a digital agency, we see lead magnets being of great value and recommend having them on your website. 

Top Tip: make it relevant to the specific web page, it will ensure it resonates with your targeted audience. 

shopping card and shopping bag

I’ve got their details, now what? 

Once your customer has signed up or downloaded your lead magnet, you have established a relationship.

Your next steps should involve nurturing them to convert. Keep in mind that it’s rare for it to happen overnight and that it can take some time.

Using email marketing and nurture campaigns are greatly recommended. With a nurture campaign, emails are sent out over time to remind and motivate your audience to buy or use your service. 

They might decide to take some form of action from the nurture campaign, which is what you want. It could be clicking on a link leading them to finish purchasing or it could be getting in touch and further enquiring about your product or service. 

Top Tip: Don’t forget to update your lead magnets. No one is going to download something that is outdated and irrelevant. 

22 Group

We are a Manchester based digital agency offering three vital services: branding, web design & development and marketing. 

Whether you are looking to have a website created with downloadable lead magnets, brochures designed or copy written for your lead magnet, we can help. 

If you have any questions or would like to know more about our services and how we can help please get in touch. 

Published by twentytwo in Marketing & Analytics
Tags: leadgeneration, leadmagnet
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11/11/2021

Updating website content

We’re nearing the end of the year and as the classic saying goes “out with the old, in with the new”. Along with kicking bad habits, we want to remind you it's important to update your website content and keep it fresh.

When was the last time you updated the content on your website? Didn’t even realise it was something you should be doing? 

Website content includes everything from blogs to testimonials. It’s not just the content on your contact page or pricing page, the more obvious ones, that need updating. 

Updating website content isn’t something you should just do at the end of the year, it’s important to keep your content updated often. Not only for the practical reasons for a customer or user browsing your website but it also affects search engines.

You want to be doing everything you can to ensure you’re ranking well, right?

22 group employee writing down notes for updating website content

Benefits of updating website content: 

  • SEO

Search engines take note when you are regularly updating your website. They can tell if you’re consistently doing this and it all helps towards proving you are a valuable website; worth being shown in a search result. 

  • Engage your audience

Writing for search engines is an important factor when updating your website content but don’t forget to keep your audience engaged with it. Provide value to your customers and ensure the content is easily digestible and relevant.

  • Brand personality

Your website is the main platform to establish your brand personality, it’s where your customers can visit and refer back to 24/7. Keeping your content up to date will help portray this personality, especially if there has been a change in the business direction. 

  • Reputation for quality content

By frequently updating your website with quality, useful content you’re being viewed as a valuable source of information and will more likely be seen as a reputable website. 

  • Use it as a proof-reading session

Any mistakes spotted on your website whether that be spelling or spacing can cause a user to lose trust. If you frequently update your content you reduce this issue as you'll be checking on it.

We hope this has helped you understand why updating website content is seen as an important task and not something you only do every few years or at the end of the year. 

When you’re updating your content, it’s not just the text you should keep up to date on your website. Other areas to keep updated include the tech side and website design. 

22 group team having a meeting and discussing website content updates

22Group 

At 22Group we have a great team of copywriters who are experienced in writing website copy. Getting the tone of voice right and incorporating good SEO practices as well as bringing through your brand values is something we’re well versed in. 

Our fantastic team can help you with your branding, website and marketing. Whether you’re looking to refresh or start from scratch we’d love to have a chat. 

Find out more or ask us any questions - get in touch. 

Published by twentytwo in Website Design & Build
Tags: content, websiteupdate
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26/10/2021

Haunting marketing mistakes

Don’t wake up screaming in the night because you’ve made a haunting marketing mistake that could cost you. 

When you market your business, service or product you want to stand out and be seen. Taking risks is all part of marketing but making sure they’re the right ones can be challenging. 

To help you avoid any haunting mistakes, here are 10 marketing mistakes often made by businesses:

1.Not using social media

Whatever industry you are in, you should be using social media. Not necessarily every single platform out there but definitely have an online presence. It’s expected and standard these days. 

2. Making it about yourself

You want customers to buy your product or service, right? Then you need to listen to them and sell them what they need, don’t make it all about you and what you can do. This goes for your marketing content too, provide valuable content. 

3. Not shouting about your USP

Your USP is what makes you different to your competitors, make sure you’re shouting about this through your marketing. 

4. Not willing to invest

With any investment, you put money in to receive more back. It’s the same with your marketing, if you don't put any money into it you can’t always expect high returns. 

5. Targeting everyone and anyone

Not defining your target audience could mean your marketing is all over the place and you’re sending mixed messages to your audience.

6. Not publishing blog content

There’s no doubt blogs should be in your marketing plan, blogs are useful in so many ways. From SEO to content for your social media, make sure you’re writing them.

7. Forgetting videos

Video content is on the rise due to popularity. They don’t need to be long, they can be short and snappy but it is important to include videos in your marketing plan.

8. Not utilising email marketing

Email marketing is an incredibly cost-effective method of marketing and to this day is still a valuable marketing tool. Don't underestimate it.

9. No call to action

Your goal is to achieve more sales, if your marketing activity doesn’t have a call to action how will your customers know what to do?  

10. Unwilling to adapt

Change is inevitable, if you’re unwilling to adapt or change when something happens you’re going to be left behind and seen as outdated. Take the pandemic, for example, a lot of companies had to reevaluate their online presence. 

After reading through that list, we hope you’ve managed to identify that you don’t do any of them or you realise this is somewhere that needs improvement - mistakes happen. 

misty forrest

22Group are a team of talented web designers, branding experts and marketers. We offer bespoke solutions and can help you achieve success. We’d love to help and have a chat with you - get in touch. 

Published by twentytwo in Marketing & Analytics
Tags: digitalmarketing, halloween, marketing
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15/10/2021

Importance of videos on social media

Whatever social media platform you’re browsing, you're bound to come by a video. Especially with the introduction of TikTok and the lockdowns we had when staying in was the new going out, more and more video content became available. 

Have you noticed or maybe you’re already familiar with the button at the bottom of your screen when you’re on the Facebook app where it says ‘Watch’ or on Instagram where you can go straight to watching Reels.

Have you found yourself scrolling on TikTok for hours or watching YouTube video after YouTube video? It’s been a long time since social media was just text or images.

Even out of the lockdowns, video content is still a big hit and there are several reasons why businesses are jumping on the bandwagon and producing more and more of it. 

Importance of videos: 

  • Grab your audience’s attention

Videos are great for capturing attention. The start of your video should indicate what it’s about and leave the viewer wanting more. 

Also, video content on social media is great for turning your information into digestible content - easier for the audience to consume. 

  • They encourage conversation

When you provide content that is on-trend or about a popular topic you’re encouraging conversation, opinions and people to engage with your video. 

  • Humanise your brand

By personifying your brand and showing your audience the people and processes behind your business, you’re gaining trust. 

  • Videos are popular

Even pre-pandemic, videos were gaining popularity across all social media platforms. Video is one of the most effective ways to deliver engaging and entertaining content. 

  • Appeal to the Gen Z audience

Gen Z has very much been connected to the internet compared to others and use it for not only entertainment purposes but education as well. 

The introduction and growth of TikTok has become incredibly popular due to this. The user-generated short videos have a great appeal and it’s why many businesses are hopping onto this platform as well. 

  • Can be repurposed 

Quality videos may be more of an investment in terms of time and money but they can be used across all social media platforms, shortened to be put onto Instagram or Facebook stories.

phone filming a video

If you haven’t started creating video content, it’s time to start planning now. It’s a great storytelling tool so share your brand, product or service, industry knowledge and provide entertainment.

There are some category ideas you can use!

About 22Group 

22Group are a digital agency providing all your website, branding and marketing needs under one roof. 

Our fantastic team of experts are on hand to help you deliver successful results. We’re happy to answer any questions or have a chat about any projects - get in touch.

Published by twentytwo in Marketing & Analytics, Social media
Tags: contentmarketing, digitalmarketing, Facebook, instagram, socialmedia, tiktok, video, videocontent, youtube
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01/10/2021

What is a landing page?

Have you been hearing “Landing pages are great” or “You should be using landing pages”? If you’re not in the digital industry, it's probably a foreign term to you. 

So, what is a landing page? 

A landing page is a standalone web page that a consumer can land on by clicking a link. It is designed to convert visitors into leads. 

It’s common for a landing page to have no navigation bar, it ensures the visitor is not distracted and led elsewhere. Along with no navigation bar, there is typically a form to capture the visitor’s information. 

person at a laptop about to fill in their credit card details online.

How do landing pages work?

  1. A user sees a call to action, clicks it and ends up on a landing page with a form.
  2. The user fills out the form and becomes a lead. 
  3. You receive the information the user filled out and have it in your database.
  4. You can now market to the lead. 

Once they have filled out the form, they should be redirected to a ‘thank you’ page. 

What should be on a landing page? 

Start with a compelling heading to keep your visitor on the page and then a brief description of what is being offered. 

The content on the landing page should be concise and encourage the visitor to fill in their information - identify their problems and mention how you can solve them while benefitting them. 

As well as the informative content, you may opt to have trust building elements like testimonials or professional industry logos. 

It’s important to keep the consistency of the content so that it matches the visitor’s previous source. If the message is not the same, it can confuse the visitor and they’ll most likely hit the back button thinking they’re in the wrong place.

pencil drawing of a landing page plan

Why use a landing page? 

Now you know what a landing page is, these are the reasons why you should use them: 

  • Drive traffic

By having concise, straightforward information you’re enticing visitors to your landing page and encouraging conversions. 

  • Improve SEO

When creating a landing page, using targeted keywords and SEO best practices will help drive organic traffic to your website. 

  • Great as a PPC strategy

The dedicated content will target what your potential customer is looking for and quickly meet their needs, leading to a conversion. 

  • Target your audience

By having content for a specific audience, that touches on their pain points and offers a solution unique to them, they will first find your content more interesting and secondly, they’ll be able to relate more.

  • Generate leads and conversions

Landing pages help to generate qualified leads. You can bet the person who has just clicked through to your landing page and filled in your form is legitimately interested and ready to have a chat. 

  • Direct and to the point

Landing pages are designed to be free from distractions with no navigation bar and a focused message, this increases the chances of conversions. 

Are you interested in landing pages for your business?

At 22Group, we are a team of talented web developers, branding experts and marketing pros. We can help you create a landing page, design it in line with your branding and write captivating copy. 

We’d be happy to help answer any questions or discuss further - get in touch. 

Published by twentytwo in Campaigns & Creative
Tags: conversions, digitalmarketing, landingpage, leads, marketingstrategy
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17/09/2021

Time for a business autumn clean?

The start of September saw the introduction of autumn goods in the shops, children going back to school and people getting back into routines. And, with a change in season coming an autumn clean is just as important as a spring clean. But, we mean a business autumn clean.

Ensure your website, branding and marketing are all up to scratch and look the way you want it to. Keep content up to date, fresh and think about if these three aspects are still aligning with your business goals. 

desk with a computer, pot of pens and a mug

Website

Wondering if your website requires an update? Check if everything is still working, this could be the forms on your website, internal or external links or the customer login section. 

Once you’ve done that, is there now something you think could be added to your website to make it a better experience for your customers? A feature that allows them to do more or perhaps it’s something that has been suggested by your customers. 

Keep this in mind and not only will website updates improve the user experience but they will help with site security and your bounce rate. 

Branding

Right this moment, would you describe your branding as fresh? Does it fit in with the 21st century? 

From the colours used to the typeface, every aspect of your branding will influence how someone perceives your company.

Rebranding or a brand refresh can make you more relevant and can even help you reach and engage with a new audience. If you’re trying to tap into a new market or target audience, check if your branding is applicable to them as well as your current audience. 

Marketing

Are you following trends and managing to keep up with marketing tasks? 

Ensure your marketing goals still align with your overall business goals. It’s good to take a step back and look at the wider picture to see if you’re on track. 

Also, if you’ve been trying a marketing method for a while and it’s not getting you anywhere or getting you the leads you expected, take time to evaluate and try something different. 

When you update your marketing it will not only become more effective but it will also save you costs. It’s time to make wise marketing decisions. 

billboard with different colourful words

How can 22Group help? 

We’re proud to say we can offer many of your digital needs under one roof. Whether you are thinking about refreshing or creating a new website, brand or marketing we’ve got experts to help. 

Want to see what we’ve done before? Our latest case study is on a financial company who came to us for a website refresh, take a look at our work - click here. 

We’d be more than happy to have a chat about what you’re looking for or answer any questions you have - get in touch. 

Published by twentytwo in Website Design & Build
Tags: autumn, branding, marketing, websitedesign
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26/08/2021

How to make social media accessible

Is your social media content accessible? 

While social media continues to expand with new features, so do its users. By having inclusive content, that is accessible, you can reach a larger audience. 

Especially with the last year and a half, people have been relying on social media and online platforms to interact and keep in touch with people throughout the many lockdowns. For people who are blind, visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, these small, easy changes make a huge difference in their social media experience.

It’s good to take note that smartphones already have some built-in tools to make their device more accessible, including text to speech, enlarging the text and in addition, lots of apps that can do all sorts. 

Tips to make your social media content more accessible: 

  • Image descriptions

Sometimes known as alternative text (alt text), an image description allows a screen reader to describe an image out loud. A lot of content on social media platforms are visual and the image descriptions really allow them to imagine the post.

Tip: keep it short and concise, the key features will help paint a picture.

  • Subtitle videos

Where possible for video content, create subtitles for them. There are many apps which can help do this for you or if you are posting on Facebook, it does have the functionality to automatically create subtitles, however, it may not be 100% accurate.

  • CamelCase hashtags

By capitalising the first word in a hashtag, it makes it easier to read not only for screen readers when they read aloud but also for everyone else. 

#MakeSocialMediaAccessible

  • Emoji usage

If a screen reader is being used they will pick up on the emojis, so if you use a lot in one go it could go something like “Hugging face. Hugging face. Hugging face. Hugging face. Hugging face.”. Now, that’s pretty annoying! 

All of these are simple yet effective ways to make social media more accessible. 

While technology develops, keep an eye out for new accessibility tools being revealed on platforms. 

Need help with your social media? 

At 22Group, we can slot right in where you need help whether that’s creating impactful social media assets or doing the leg work and posting on your platforms. Our flexible, experienced marketing team are happy to listen to your needs and work with you to achieve your goals. 

Ready to have a chat? Get in touch with us today. 

Published by twentytwo in Social media
Tags: content, contentmarketing, Facebook, instagram, marketing, socialmediamarketing
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11/08/2021

National Tell a Joke Day

National Tell a Joke Day is coming up on Monday, 16th of August, so we’ve searched far and wide to find the digital related jokes that made us laugh the most. 

Jokes about websites

  • Grandmothers are like websites
    • They keep telling you to accept their cookies
  • I was placed under arrest for downloading the whole Wikipedia website
    • I told the officer “Wait! I can explain everything!”
  • What is the most common job amongst spiders?
    • Web design
  • How do you comfort a JavaScript bug?
    • You console it

Jokes about branding

  • How do you deliver fonts? 
    • By Courier
  • Things aren’t always #000000 and #FFFFFF
  • Two fonts walk into a bar
    • The bartender says “we don’t serve your type here”. They called the Serif.
  • I’m very font of you because you are just my type.

Jokes about marketing

  • Why are SEO experts always late to work? 
    • They love traffic
  • Why did the marketer get fired as a tap dancer?
    • They wanted to get paid per click
  • Why was the SEO guru upset when she found out she was going to have twins? 
    • Duplicate content
  • I made a joke about organic reach on Facebook
    • … nobody got it
laughing crying emoji on an iphone

Ok, they might not of all had you laughing your socks off but we hope they put a smile on your face! 

Share the laughter and send on some of these jokes.

Great websites, branding and marketing are no joke to us. If you need help in creating or refreshing yours then get in touch with us today.

Published by twentytwo in Brand & Strategy, Marketing & Analytics, Website Design & Build
Tags: branding, digitalagency, jokeday, jokes, marketing, websitedesign
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