How strong is your brand? Try these three quick tests.

Today Chris is sharing five simple tips to improve your video calls. All you need is some basic equipment to transform your on-screen performance. COVID has meant we’ve all had to switch to online alternatives to hold meetings and deliver presentations. Even after the pandemic has gone away, we think video conferencing is still going to play a massive part in our working lives. We’ve been in hundreds of these meetings now, so we know what works and what doesn’t. If you’re plagued by echoing or distorted sound, or if you’d like to appear more professional in your meetings, these easy tips will help you up your video conferencing game.

In part two of our short series on content marketing, Matt and Chris are chatting about email marketing. Is your inbox full of spammy emails you don’t remember subscribing to? Do you spend valuable time from your day deleting a load of crap that’s been sent to you by companies you bought something from once? Email marketing can be awful. But email marketing can be great. A lot of companies make it awful, but some companies - like Hiut Denim - make it great. If you want to be one of the great ones, we have some tips.

Are you looking for content marketing ideas? Do you need some inspiration? In today’s Monkey Monday vlog, Matt and Chris are kicking off a two-parter to share our advice for getting your content marketing spot on. In part 1, we’re sharing three tips that will help you generate ideas for your content marketing on a regular basis. Tip #1: Understand your audience In our audience workshops, we help our clients uncover useful information about their audience that they perhaps hadn’t considered before. You can do this yourself - just write down a list of your most important audiences and make a note of this kind of stuff: what they like, what they don’t like, what problems or pains they have, what solutions they’re looking for, what their social circle looks like, what beliefs they have, and so on. Once you’ve done this exercise, you’ve basically made a list of a load of valuable content you can create that’s tailored to your audience. Tip #2: Answer their questions People ask questions. People want answers. And where does this dialogue take place? Search engines. Now that you’ve identified your audience, try and think about the kind of questions they might be asking when they make a Google search. Can you answer those questions? Whether you do so in a blog, a vlog, an infographic, a podcast, or anything else, answering their questions is one of the best ways to get them on board. By optimising your content for key words and phrases, you can rank high in search results for people who are searching for that specific piece of information. Our best advice if you’re doing this is to get really specific - your goal is not to grab as many people as possible, it’s to target the particular niche who are interested in that particular thing. Tip #3: Learn from your business If you operate in a marketing department, it’s easy to become siloed from the nuts and bolts of your business. One of the best strategies for creating content is to talk with the people who answer the phones or greet people front-of-house. These people know first-hand exactly what kind of questions and issues your audience has, because they probably have to deal with them on a daily basis. Simply by chatting with the people who have a close relationship with your audience, you can gain a better insight of what your audience needs to know. Then create and publish that content, and make it easy for them to find. It can be as simple as an FAQ page on your website. You can also improve your business by doing this - just think how much better your receptionist’s day will be if they don’t have to answer the same questions over and over again.

Almost every business we’ve ever come across has listed ‘honesty’ or ‘integrity’ as values they possess and hold dear. But in traditional business practice, it can be quite rare to find people who actually uphold these values. We believe the business world is changing - people are now held accountable for hiding or twisting the truth, for maintaining unethical practices, and for generally being snakey. In today’s vlog, Matt and Chris are sharing some of our own experiences with honesty and trust, and talking about how working collaboratively and openly might lead to a better future for business. Have you come across a business that’s let you down, or one that’s surprised you with their candour? We’ve like to hear your stories. #MonkeyMondays #RustyMonkey #businesstips #honesty #businessowner #businesslife #businesscoach #honestbusiness

Today Matt and Chris are giving you three tests you can take to test the strength of your brand. Whether you’re starting a new brand, thinking about rebranding, or living with a brand that hasn’t changed for years, these tests can help you identify weaknesses in your branding and communication. Don’t worry, this isn’t an exam. It’s more a series of thought experiments that can change your way of thinking. Give them a go and let us know how you get on. Here’s the breakdown 00:00 - Intro 00:37 - The visual storytelling test 02:05 - The start over test 03:57 - The internal brand test Links which Matt and Chris mentioned: Simon Sinek | How great leaders inspire action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

Today Matt and Chris are reflecting back on 2020, The Year That Was, and looking forward to the future of Rusty Monkey. We’re feeling excited and optimistic about the goals we’ve set for ourselves, and we want to share those with you to inspire you to think about your business goals differently. A lot of businesses have purely financial goals, and financial goals are important - money is the fuel that runs your business. But you don’t own a car just so you can put fuel in it, right? You own a car so that you can go places. So why would you run a business just to make money? We think it’s important to set OKRs that mean something to your team, that will improve their lives and the way your business functions. What do you think? #MonkeyMondays #RustyMonkey #businessowner #businessgrowth #businessgoals

In this week's podcast, I give you a few tips on how to start a podcast. If you want to take a look at the vlog version online head over to our YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/Rustymonkey/videos

Happy new year Monkey Stars. We hope you’ve all had a fab xmas break. In today’s Monkey Monday, the first of 2021, Matt and Chris are sharing their tips for naming your product. Naming stuff is notoriously difficult, but we have a few exercises to try that should make the process much easier. We also had a really fun time having this chat. We think that comes across.

We’re feeling very festive at RMHQ today, and we’re excited to share some peace and goodwill with all our followers and friends. Thank you for watching our vlogs throughout 2020 - we hope you’ve found them useful and entertaining in what has been a very challenging year. Chris starts with some recommendations... Where  you can get music for your multimedia projects... https://artlist.io/Chris-228316 Podcast Recommendations - These are Apple links, but they are all easy to find in your own podcast app. 1. Adam Buxton Benjamin Zephaniah https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-adam-buxton-podcast/id1040481893?i=1000500686329 Blindboy https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-adam-buxton-podcast/id1040481893?i=1000496019759 Hassan Akkad https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-adam-buxton-podcast/id1040481893?i=1000394978761 2. Blindboy Mental Health Regime https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/my-mental-health-philosophy-so-far/id1300577518?i=1000479347145 3. Desert Island Discs Floella Benjamin https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/baroness-floella-benjamin-dbe/id342735925?i=1000494332529 Ian Wright https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ian-wright-former-footballer-and-broadcaster/id342735925?i=1000465736681 4. 13 Minutes to the moon https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2 5.More of Less https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qshd 6. Guy Garvey's Finest Hour https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0072q60 It’s been difficult for everyone in lots of different ways, and some businesses have been hit hard. We hate the idea that this pandemic will cause some companies to fail, some jobs to be lost, and some dreams to be sacrificed. And we want to help in whatever way we can. That’s why we’re launching a campaign to save a business, using our knowledge of branding and marketing, and our network of enterprising contacts. We’ll be running a competition to find a business that we can bring back from the brink, and the prize will be up to £20,000 of Rusty Monkey services and advice. If you think your business is a candidate, or if you know of someone else who needs a helping hand - head over to our website to enter. We understand this might be a sensitive and painful topic for you, so all entries will be kept anonymous, and we’ll never release details of your business to the public without your permission. Equally, if you feel like you might have some skills, resources or knowledge to contribute to our campaign, we’d love to hear from you. We’re always on the lookout for people who have similar goals to partner with us. Let’s #saveabusiness.

In today’s Monkey Monday, Matt and Chris are chatting about Google Jamboard and how technology like this has helped our team come together while we work remotely. Have you discovered any technologies that have helped you continue functioning during lockdown? We’d love to hear about your finds! https://jamboard.google.com/