Growing Your Business in NZ with LinkedIn

Posted on May 27, 2022January 6, 2023 by Phil Robinson

If you’re a business owner in New Zealand, you would have heard of LinkedIn. You may even have a profile and be wondering how to use it to grow your business. Don’t worry, we’ve got the answers. Read on for tips and tricks to using LinkedIn to give your business a boost and get the most out of your Social Media Markeitng!

How to get the most out of LinkedIn

The key to success on LinkedIn is being active and engaging with other people on the platform. Here are some of the ways you can do that

1. Create an Engaging Profile – A great profile will draw people in and encourage them to connect with you. It should be professional, but also show off your personality. Think about what makes you unique and make sure that shines through in your profile!
2. Connect With Other Professionals – Networking is essential for any business, and LinkedIn is a great place to start building relationships with other professionals in your industry or related industries.
3. Join Groups – Joining groups related to your industry is a great way to get insider knowledge, find potential customers, and even recruit employees! Don’t forget to endorse those connections when appropriate – it helps both parties gain credibility! Participate in conversations or create content that will help build your presence as an expert in your field.
4. Promote Your Content – Posting content regularly keeps you top of mind for potential customers or employers who are visiting your profile page – so don’t forget to post relevant articles or blog posts that showcase your expertise! You can also share job postings if you’re looking for new talent. Or promote upcoming events such as webinars or conferences where you’ll be speaking.
5. Utilize Paid Ads – If all else fails, boosting posts with paid social media advertising can help get your content seen by more people which will help grow brand awareness of your business within NZ and beyond!

Grow your presence

LinkedIn is an invaluable tool for any modern business looking to grow its presence online in New Zealand (or anywhere else!). By following the tips above, you can maximize the potential of this powerful platform – from networking with other professionals and promoting content, to utilizing paid ads for increased visibility – there’s something here for everyone! So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start growing your business today! Good luck!

How to Advertise a Startup Business

Posted on May 6, 2022January 6, 2023 by Phil Robinson

The ABCs of Advertising a Startup Business

You’ve passed the point of asking How to start a business… And now as an entrepreneur or business owner, you may be wondering, how in the world do I get people to know about my business? After all, if no one knows your business exists, they can’t buy from you. Don’t worry—we’ve got your back. Here are the ABCs of advertising a startup business.

A is for Advertising on Social Media

Social media is one of the most efficient ways to advertise. That’s because you don’t have to spend too much money and it reaches a wide variety of people. Start by creating a strong presence on the major social media platforms like Facebook, and Instagram. You can create content that provides useful information about your industry or product/service offerings. In turn that will help establish trust between potential customers and your brand. Additionally, consider running ads on social media platforms—you can target them based on age, location, or interests so that you are reaching the right type of customer for your business.

B is for Blogging

Blogging is another great way to reach potential customers and build trust with existing ones. You can use blogs as an opportunity to showcase knowledge about your industry or offer tips related to using your products/services more effectively. Plus, blogging regularly will help boost the SEO ranking of your website since Google loves fresh content!

C is for Collaboration

Collaborating with other businesses and organizations can be a great way to get exposure for both parties involved. For example, if you own a bakery and partner up with other local businesses like restaurants or catering services in the area who need bread more frequently than individual customers do; this would increase their visibility while also giving them access to quality bread at discounted prices. Additionally, consider sponsoring events or partnering up with influencers in the area who could promote your product/service offerings on their social media channels—this type of collaboration is invaluable for startups looking to get noticed quickly!

Advertising a startup business doesn’t have to be difficult if you know where to look for opportunities! By utilizing things like social media advertising, blogging, and collaborating with other businesses/influencers in the area; you can easily get noticed by potential customers without spending too much money upfront. You can check out 18 more ways to market a start-up here at Hubspot. Also, do some research into what would work best for promoting your particular business and start advertising today! Good luck!

Social Media Marketing: What You Need to Know

Posted on April 27, 2022December 27, 2022 by Phil Robinson

Social media marketing is about leveraging the right platforms in the best way. Because let’s face it, Social Media is here to stay. And while some platforms come and go, the big players have been around for a while. But as we all know, just having a presence on these sites isn’t enough. You need to leverage these platforms in order to reach your marketing goals.

With so many social media platforms out there, it can be hard to know where to start. Should you focus on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Tiktok, and Pinterest? And when exactly do you have time to post on all these platforms? Well, don’t worry! We’re here to help make sense of it all and help you find your way around social media marketing.

So how can you maximize your impact? Let’s take a look!

Let’s Take a look at some popular Social Media Marketing Platforms

Facebook

This is the largest social media platform with the broadest age range of users. Facebook has become much more than a place to post pictures of your cat; it is now a powerful tool for small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to grow their brand awareness and reach new customers. Use this platform to create engaging content, establish relationships with other businesses, and spread relevant news about your company. Facebook Marketing is a tremendous tool for businesses

Twitter

Twitter is the perfect platform for short, concise messages that are sure to capture attention quickly. With its huge following and massive user base, it’s no surprise that Twitter is one of the most popular platforms for marketing campaigns. As long as you keep your tweets interesting and informative—and don’t forget those hashtags!—you can use this platform to great effect.

Instagram

This visually-focused app is ideal if you want to share high-quality images or videos with potential customers. Instagram has become an invaluable tool for companies looking to stand out from the crowd with creative content that speaks directly to their target audience. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your posts—you never know what will capture someone’s attention!

Unlike other social networks, LinkedIn focuses solely on business connections between professionals in related industries or career paths. This platform is an effective tool for social media marketing as it’s great for networking because it allows you to leverage existing contacts in order to make new connections in your field of interest. Make sure you keep your profile updated so potential employers or partners can learn more about who you are and what you do!

TikTok

TikTok is all the rage these days, and for good reason. It can be an incredibly powerful tool for brands and businesses to spread the word about their products, services, and even events. TikTok gives companies a unique way to get creative with their social media marketing strategies. With Tik Tok, brands can fly high into creativity while simultaneously engaging with its abundant user base. Whether it’s short videos filled with genius graphics or voice-over pieces that expertly tell stories – TikTok has proven again and again that it is an invaluable resource for savvy marketers everywhere.

Pinterest is an incredibly popular platform for social media marketing. It lends itself well to an aesthetic style of marketing, with unique visuals and ideas being shared as users scroll through their feeds. Pinterest is a great source of inspiration and can be used to tell stories, build relationships and find brand advocates – making it a great tool for businesses looking to enhance their presence online. From the expert Pinterest user to the everyday Pinterest enthusiast, Pinterest truly has something for everyone!

Snapchat

Snapchat is another popular social media platform out there. It enables users to share quickly and easily create content, like videos, photos, and other shareable elements. Snapchat has also enabled businesses to get in on the fun as well! Snapchat provides a great platform for tailoring ads and content marketing. It’s also become a hugely popular platform for influencers, giving brands an easy way to reach potential customers. All-in-all Snapchat is a great way to create sharable, engaging content that can broaden your audience base as part of your social media marketing plan.

Focus On Quality Over Quantity

When it comes to social media marketing, quality should always take priority over quantity. You don’t need to be active on every platform out there. Instead of spreading yourself thin across multiple platforms and not doing any of them well, pick a few that are well-suited for your brand and get really good at those. Focus your energy on creating high-quality content that resonates with your target audience. That will be more valuable than having a presence on every single platform.

Be Consistent With Your Branding

Just like any marketing, Social Media Marketing is no different. So once you’ve identified the best channels for your brand, stay consistent with your branding across all channels. That means using the same logo, colors, and fonts throughout each of your accounts as much as possible. It also means maintaining a consistent tone and voice — being professional but also relatable — in order to keep people engaged with your content. These elements become even more crucial if you decide to run advertising campaigns across multiple platforms simultaneously.

Maximize Your Time With Automation Tools

Another way to maximize your time is by using automation tools like Hootsuite or Buffer which can help streamline the process of managing multiple social media marketing accounts at once. Automation tools allow you to schedule posts in advance so that you don’t have to manually post each day or every other day (depending on how often you want to post). This allows you to plan ahead and create content far in advance while still ensuring that it goes live at peak times when most people are online.

Planning and Consistency are Key for Social Media Marketing!

Social media marketing can seem overwhelming at first — especially when there are so many different platforms available. That’s why you need a plan for Social media. With a little bit of planning and consistency, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming! By focusing on quality instead of quantity, staying true to your branding across all channels, and leveraging automation tools like Hootsuite or Buffer whenever possible, anyone can succeed in social media marketing without losing their sanity in the process! Good luck!

Can Website Migration Harm my SEO [Checklist]

Posted on April 22, 2022April 22, 2025 by Phil Robinson

Website Migration becomes a requirement when a website becomes out of date. Not only will an outdated website not perform well, but the flow-on effect is that it will also not represent your brand well.

Traditionally websites are something that are designed/built, launched and more often than not, not maintained. If this is the case, then a site will become out of date over time. This can mean a redesign is needed to keep up with web standards and design trends. This can often be accomplished with a simple facelift or re-skin. However, in some cases, you may be up against a complete website migration.

What is website migration?

Website migration is when a website gets largely revamped or completely redesigned and rebuilt. Whilst a fresh look is great, this can impact visibility on search engines. Generally, these areas are design, user experience, platform, site location, and structure.

The end result of a website migration may include a cleaner interface, a new or improved user experience, an easier editing experience, and more. However, the choice to migrate your website should not be taken lightly. If executed poorly, you could end up with status code errors, negatively impacted SEO performance, and even irritated website visitors.

Why might you migrate a website?

Here are the circumstances in which you might need a site migration over a simple redesign:

The need to move your site’s location from one server or hosting provider to another.
Wanting to change the CMS platform your site operates on.
You are changing your domain name or URLs.
The website needs major changes to your site’s architecture (not just aesthetics)

If you’re considering a website migration, keep in mind that you must leave yourself time to prepare and execute. Migration specialists usually take about three weeks, so plan accordingly. Now, let’s get into the details of migrating a website.

Website Migration Checklist

Crawl the existing site.
Record your benchmarks.
Map your URLs.
Make sure you’re retaining titles, meta descriptions, and HTML markup.
Try out the new build on a test server (aka sandbox).
Choose the right date for the migration.
Prepare to update your site’s DNS settings.
Launch.
Crawl the new site.
Identify and resolve missing and duplicate content.
Check for redirect chains.
Ensure Google Analytics and Google Search Console are implemented.
Mark the date in Analytics.
Submit sitemaps.
Monitor performance.
Run site audits.
Update your platforms.
Have publishers update backlinks.

Pre-Website Migration

1. Crawl the existing site.

A website crawler retrieves the URLs and markup on your site, “seeing” this information similarly to how Google would.

Performing a crawl gives you a starting point for your URL mapping (more on that later) as well as a list to refer to in case something gets lost in translation. You can crawl your website yourself with a third-party tool such as Screaming Frog.

2. Record your benchmarks.

In some cases, analytics data can get erased during a website migration, and these historical benchmarks can be valuable, so it’s best to retain it.

You should also take the time to review your analytics and ensure you know how visitors currently navigate the site and which pages are your most valuable. This context can help inform your redesign and site architecture decisions.

3. Map your URLs.

If you’re making major changes to the URLs on your site, you’ll need redirections in place to guide Google and your website users from your old URLs to your new URLs.

From a usability standpoint, if a page no longer exists, you don’t want your users to get a 404 status code error. Instead, they should be guided to the page that has taken the old page’s place.
Improper redirects can mean a big hit against your SEO. They tell search engines and visitors of your website that a page has changed, whether it’s been removed, or no longer exists. They also tell search engines what new pages have replaced old ones.
From an SEO perspective, you don’t want to lose all of the history, backlinks, and (in essence) “authority” that the old page built up. A redirect tells Google where to attribute those signals instead.
To get redirects implemented, you must first strategize by mapping your URLs. This involves building a spreadsheet with two columns: one for the old URL and one for the corresponding new URL.

Don’t be concerned if there aren’t “perfect” replacements for every piece of content. Just do the best you can to direct your users based on their original intent.

If you have tons of pages, manual mapping probably isn’t in the cards for you, so to save time, look for patterns in your URLs that can be redirected in groups or sections.

Existing redirects should be migrated as well. Try to keep as many existing redirects as possible to lessen the workload, and make sure your URLs are mapped before you test redirects, to make sure you have backups if you lose them.

4. Make sure you’re retaining titles, meta descriptions, and HTML markup.

Recall that website migrations help with website organization. As such, pages should be uniform and contain the same information as they did before. To illustrate, if the HubSpot Marketing Blog underwent a site migration, the content and descriptions for each blog post would be the same, just look different.

You can always update or rewrite titles, meta descriptions, and HTML markup, but you should still ensure that each page includes the proper information.

5. Try out the new build on a test server (aka sandbox).

Seeing mockups or testing in a local environment will not give you a full picture of the new site’s functionality and implementation. For a seamless transition, take it online for a test drive before the official migration.

6. Choose the right date for the website migration.

Hiccups will happen no matter what, but you can minimize them by avoiding peak hours.

Day of Website Migration

7. Prepare to update your site’s DNS settings.

If you’re moving your site to a new server, part of the process will include “pointing” to the site’s new location. Coordinate with your web/IT team and/or your hosting providers (new and old) to accomplish this.

8. Launch.

Set up your forwarding redirects, unpublish, and implement.

If DNS changes were involved, the site may be down momentarily.

If you’re not switching servers or platforms, the migration should be nearly instantaneous.

9. Crawl the new site.

Once the new site is live, you can do a crawl to see if it has been migrated how you expected it to. One thing you want to look for is proper indexability and crawlability.

10. Identify and resolve missing and duplicate content.

Using the crawl report, see if you find any anomalies, including duplicate content or 404 errors and broken links. In addition, you should click around the new site and look for issues.

11. Check for redirect links.

Now that your site has been migrated, you have a lot of new redirects on your hands. If redirects already existed, links may have been created.

Here’s what this means:

If you were already redirecting A to B, your migration may have added a redirect from B to C.

This creates a chain of redirects: A to B to C.

Redirect chains can slow your site down and impact performance. You can avoid this by breaking the chains, redirecting A to C and B to C.

12. Ensure Google Analytics and Google Search Console are implemented.

To avoid any gaps in data and reporting, these should be up and running the same day.

13. Mark the date in Analytics.

Google Analytics allows you to make “Annotations” of important dates or events. This can help you contextualize the data and measure performance pre-and post-migration (unless you opted for a new Analytics setup).

14. Submit sitemaps.

Once everything is up and running, ensure your XML site map has no errors. Then, you can submit the sitemap in Google Search Console to invite Google to crawl the new implementation.

Post-Website Migration

15. Monitor performance.

While temporary dips in traffic are common after a migration, you should still be keeping a pulse on your analytics to ensure nothing big was missed that could be affecting performance.

16. Run site audits.

Sometimes, third-party tools can find issues you didn’t know about. SEMrush’s site auditor is excellent in situations like this.

17. Update your platforms.

If you have ads running or other platforms that may be using old URLs, be sure to add fresh links.

18. Have publishers update backlinks.

If your redirects have been implemented correctly, you’ll still get traffic and authority from your backlinks. However, it’s still best practice to use the freshest URLs possible. With that in mind, reach out to the publishers of your highest value links to notify them of the swap.

Website migration can be a lengthy process, but it’s not impossible. With preparation, you can have a migration that’s successful and friendly with your existing SEO efforts.

How to avoid lengthy Website Migration or redesigns in the future

As mentioned above website migration is primarily needed when you go through a redesign process and make major updates. This is generally only required because the website is out of date. And it is out of date because it has not been maintained. A website is like a staff member! it can be trained and upskilled over time. It can and should move and grow with the business.

Maintaining and continuously improving a website over time will cost some time effort and/or money, however, if done with the right goals in place, it will return more to the business than it costs. Much like a staff member. This is a methodology called Growth-Driven Web Design. If you have a continuous growth mindset this could be for you. And it means you will understand your website is a business (growth) tool.

Shopify: Blessing or Curse?

Posted on April 9, 2022January 9, 2023 by Phil Robinson

Is Shopify worth it?

If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, chances are that you have heard of Shopify. If you’re starting out in e-commerce, It’s an incredibly popular platform for building e-commerce websites and is touted as “the easiest way to sell online.”

But is Shopify really worth the hype?

There’s no doubt Shopify does a great job at marketing itself. They’re everywhere, they’re everywhere… And it could be easy to be seduced by its allure… But can it truly make the process of creating, running, and maintaining an e-commerce website easier? Let’s take a look at what Shopify has to offer and decide if it’s worth your time.

What Does Shopify Offer?

Shopify offers a wide range of features that make it easy to create an e-commerce website. It provides templates for web design, allowing you to customize your store with ease. It also offers a built-in payment system so customers can purchase items directly from your site. Additionally, it provides analytics tools so you can track customer behavior, as well as SEO options to help optimize your site for better visibility in search engine results.

The Pros and Cons of Using Shopify

No doubt about it—Shopify makes creating an e-commerce website much simpler than trying to build one from scratch.

However, before you decide if Shopify is worth it? There are some drawbacks that should be considered when deciding whether to use this platform or not.

For instance, add-ons and scaling may cost you extra in the long run with Shopify. Additionally, depending on your level of technical skill and knowledge of SEO, populating the template may be more complex than expected. Furthermore, many sites created with this platform tend to look very similar—so if you want something unique for your business, this might not be the best option for you.

In conclusion, while there are many benefits that come with using Shopify for setting up an e-commerce website. But there are some potential pitfalls that should be taken into consideration before diving in headfirst. Is Shopify better than Woo C0mmerce for example? Ultimately, it comes down to what you’re trying to achieve. I you have little budget and want to do things yourself without spending too much time on learning new skills then Shopify could be a great starting point; however, if you need something more customised or specific then other options may be more suitable for getting the job done right! Research what t the best e-commerce platform for you. Don’t just follow the crowd or jump into bed with them because they do a great job marketing themselves.

So weigh up all your options carefully before making your decision!

Get the Complete Guide to Ecommerce Ebook below

Who’s the Best Logo Design Company in Invercargill?

Posted on March 18, 2022December 8, 2025 by Phil Robinson

If you’re looking for a logo design company in Invercargill, it can be a daunting task. After all, there are so many options available and you want to make sure you pick the right one. To help narrow down your choices, we’ve compiled a handy guide to the number of businesses that rank online for being the best logo design companies in Invercargill

Quantum Print

Quantum Print works with its clients to produce a creative, innovative design that gives their brand a unique touch, their design team is specialised in creating all assets your business needs!

They say: “The key factor when constructing an effective artwork that stands out is to be consistent and aligned to your business objectives and values. We will ensure your design reflects both and brings increased value to your brand as a whole.”

Although, Quantum is primarily a print company and not specifically a design agency, They have been around for a number of years,. Recently sold to new owners, they are a company worth chatting to for your logo design needs.

Craig’s Design and Print

Widely known as one of New Zealand’s oldest and most respected print companies, Craig’s proudly say “we’re more than just a printer!” Whilst they started as a print company back in the late 1800’s, They have continued to focus on the needs of our customers, ensuring we have kept up with technology along the way. And, have the seen and been through some change! Craig’s Design and Print’s enthusiasm for embracing the latest technology means we can offer you a total graphic design and print solution for your business.

Craig’s Design and print are generally in the lower to mid-price bracket for logo design. They are worth discussing your needs for your logo design.

Emotive Design

Emotive Design believes “Your brand expresses who you are as a business: the value you offer and the values you hold.”

They can develop a corporate identity that projects a consistent, professional image to your customers. They can roll it out to every element, from logos and typefaces to stationery and signage. And they can also develop brand guidelines so that you and your suppliers can carry on the good work.

Emotive doesn’t have a permanent office. They say “we are creative. We don’t have the restraints of 4 walls and a 9-to-5 mentality. We are free – we work all hours.” Their team works remotely, all based from their home offices. You might see them in local coffee shops conducting our ‘internal meetings’. And they get together when a project demands rapid input from the whole team.

Emotive Design does good work. They will be generally in the mid-high end of the pricing spectrum. To find out exactly what they can do and what that would cost, then get in touch for a meeting.

Naked Creative

Although Naked Creative doesn’t rank for the term ‘who is the best logo design company in Invercargill’, they should still be in the mix here. Naked Creative, (formerly Market South) are a full-service marketing agency based in Invercargill, Southland. Their design will begin with a strategic approach. Then move into the creative phase.

Naked creative will traditionally be at the higher end of the pricing scale but will deliver value for that price, with their creative and professional approach.

I-Cue

I-Cue provides design solutions that are tailored to your specific requirements; they collaborate with you to better understand your target market in order to produce meaningful and reliable graphic design. Their strategy is to achieve your goals by creating strong, well-communicated brand experiences.

In terms of branding and logo design, they say “It’s essential that your logo accurately represents your business, leaving a lasting impression and engaging your target audience. The logo is just the beginning of creating a strong brand identity.”

How to choose the best logo design partner for you?

So there you have it – some of the top-ranking logo design companies in Invercargill! Whether you’re looking for something basic or something more elaborate and creative, any one of these companies can provide you with a custom logo design that fits your exact needs. Next is figuring out if they can do it within your budget. Remember your logo is the face of your brand. Whilst a business can ‘grow into’ a logo, it is important to get this investment right – from the start.

You are going to outlay a decent amount of money for a logo (or should) so ensuring that it will work on all of the mediums you will need going forward is important. Make appointments with these businesses, and chat to them. See which ones align with your values and who you think will be the best logo design company to work with you. All it takes is a little research and patience. And soon enough you’ll have found the best logo design company for your business or product! Good luck!